Tuesday, July 18, 2023

The Solacii


The Solacii is a toweringly huge three headed (past, present and future) figure standing outside the Form & Concept Gallery  - by Tigre Mashaal-Lively and Anastazia Louise Aranaga, it's "a new beacon of resilience for the Santa Fe BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and arts community."  The "resilience" comes into play not just because it's an Afrofuturist monumental piece by  genderqueer artists, but because it's in fact a reincarnation.  The original Solacii debuted at Burning Man in 2017: as well as its huge cloak, that incorporated many people's memorabilia, it had a soundtrack that played inside it - a soundtrack of a beating heart (and apparently your own heart would adapt to its beat after a few minutes of standing under the canopy - a calming, meditative effect, that was part of the love and compassion and offering of solace that the piece symbolized.  It was installed in late July 2021: on August 21st, it was destroyed (can of gasoline, matches) by an arsonist.

And so it's been rebuilt.  The very striking white fabrics are donated garments - including a nineteenth century lace piece - and yes, they are now coated in flame retardant material.  It's a bit like a Zozobra not for burning, but with its own narrative that now symbolizes the community interconnection, and, yes, the resilience that it stands for.




 

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