Tigre (Bailando) Mashaal-Lively’s latest work is a sanctuary for the times, offering a space that cultivates solace for grief and inspiration for survival.
Tigre (Bailando) Mashaal-Lively creates work across a wide range of media and disciplines, ranging from large-scale installations, sculptures, and murals, to intimate illustrations, paintings, music, and movement-based performance. They are a co-founder of Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, an organization focused on building community and recognition among the Black creative community of New Mexico.
“The Solacii is a twenty-one-foot interactive art piece that combines elements of reverent sculpture, sacred space, and responsive design. Representing a race of ancient beings, the Solacii have observed the entirety of human history with deep empathy—feeling each exuberant moment of joy and aching pain of our species.
The mysterious being is clothed in an intricate dress, which was hand-crafted from personal garments and heirlooms gathered from the community. The dress symbolizes the collective memories, stories, and experiences of humanity, and offers the intimacy of being wrapped in those stories.
With wise, old hands, the Solacii opens its many-layered cloak to reveal a sanctuary for curious visitors. Inside the sanctum, visitors are immersed in the textures and sounds of the Solacii’s ancient, transdimensional body. The sonic textures recall the heartbeats of whales, the tinkling of temple bells, the deep breath of a sleeping grandparent. Both cozy and cathedral-like, the inner sanctuary offers space for solitude and intimate gatherings, as well as a home for meditation, deep conversation, and healing.
The Solacii was created in response to the mounting crises, social strife, and existential anxiety of our times. This name comes from the Latin word for solace, and the hope of the work is to offer a space that cultivates solace for grief and inspiration for survival.”
Mashaal-Lively holds a BA from Bennington College and is a Burning Man Honorarium Grant recipient for The Solacii.
Santa Fe, NM | tigrebailando.com | ig: @tigrebailando
