Santa Fe police are investigating the vandalism of a public art sculpture that was burned on Saturday night.
“The Solacii” by New Mexico-based artist Tigre Mashaal-Lively was installed at Form & Concept in Santa Fe in late July.
On Saturday night, Santa Fe Fire Department put out a fire that destroyed the sculpture outside Form & Concept, which is located at 435 S. Guadalupe Street.
Form & Concept owner Sandy Zane and Jordan Eddy, gallery director, said they are deeply saddened by the intentional destruction of the art work.
“‘The Solacii’ represents a remarkable effort by Mashaal-Lively, collaborating artist Anstazia Louise Aranaga, and countless individuals who have contributed to the monumental project,” Zane and Eddy said in a statement.
“The Solacii” is a queer and Afrofuturist expression of comfort and solace by a local artist of color, and its burning is an undeniable act of violence against the artist and considerable cross section of their community, Zane and Eddy said.
According to Form & Concept, the sculpture symbolizes a process of communal grieving as the artists wove the robes from personal garments and heirlooms donated by friends, family and community members.
“We sincerely hope that a dialogue will emerge out of this incident on how Santa Fe as a community can embrace, support and uplift Mashaal-Lively and artists like them who have gifted us with their art,” Zane and Eddy said in a statement. “We feel there is a collective responsibility to support accessible public art, especially by queer artists of color.”
“The Solacii” debuted at Burning Man in 2017 and was installed in Santa Fe for the closing of Mashaal-Lively’s exhibit.
