Created as part of the Friends of the Orphan Signs Symbiosis Artist Residency, the site-specific artwork, I grieve for our gone, visualizes writings by intersectional feminist and civil rights activist Audre Lorde, bringing her poignant cultural criticism into conversation with Albuquerque’s history of activism and mutual aid, as well as its decades-long struggle with police brutality.

Depicting a human figure cradling a canine husk, the sign pays homage to Lorde’s essay Eye to Eye, in which the author uses the analogy of a she-wolf mutilating herself and her kin to describe how accumulated personal trauma can manifest in a compulsion to judge, police, or harm others. Galvanized by a recent community meeting at the International District Library organized by ABQ Mutual Aid, Maestas’ piece acknowledges our shared hurt and vulnerability to broaden solidarity around local current events, legacies of structural violence plaguing our communities, and our interpersonal power to protect each other. 

“If these signs do anything, I hope they prompt us to think more critically about the way we treat each other, and encourage us, as a community, to expand our networks of empathy and care,” Maestas says. “Part of what I love so much about Albuquerque is that we’re there for each other. This city has such an amazing history of community organizing and people helping each other, but right now, city government is passing bills criminalizing housing instability, and police are being deployed on ‘sweeps’ to harass folks for not having the resources they need. This sets our neighbors even further back because their personal belongings, like important legal documents and necessities, get thrown out or confiscated. And it was during one of these ‘sweeps’ a few months ago, that Matthew ‘Solo’ Garcia was killed by police, just a few blocks from this sign.”

Maestas’ poetic photographic signs link to Albuquerque current events through their pairing with auxiliary panels bearing the title of the piece and a directive to “Keep Each Other Safe,” the latter accompanied by a QR code. The QR code links to information about the project, the referenced essay, and grassroots groups engaged in mutual aid in Albuquerque. Adorned with lovingly-rendered, watercolor goatheads, these brief but rich mantras tie into an ongoing project by the artist, centering the same Lorde passage to address the enduring human and ecological harms of colonization. 

Maestas encourages viewers to get involved in local grassroots collectives such as Southwest Solidarity Network, Southwest Organizing Project, Dare to Struggle NM, Freewheel Mobile Aid, and/or New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaboration. For those with disposable income, please consider donating to Matthew ‘Solo’ Garcia’s family GoFundMe in support of funeral costs and housing.

Maestas’ residency continued with a wisdom drive hosted at the International District Library in March 2025. During the wisdom drive, Maestas invited visitors to share wisdom they had gained throughout their lives. These wisdoms were collected by and curated into a zine, to be printed at Risolana.

About Rica Maestas

Rica Maestas is a burqueñx artist and writer nurturing spaces where no one has to be whole. Inspired by home, loneliness, hybridity, and misunderstanding, Maestas makes little treasures, gifts, and offerings inviting us into dreamy and emotionally demanding spaces. 

Maestas holds a MA in public humanities from Brown University and has received numerous grants for their socially engaged projects, performances, paintings, and assemblages. Their multidisciplinary practice has included exhibiting artwork and curating independent and institutional projects, publishing written work in diverse forums, and participating in residencies at the Santa Fe Art Institute, Harwood Art Center, and PASEO Project. Profiles of their work have appeared in the Coastal Post, Providence Journal, Brown Daily Herald, Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe Reporter, and Taos News.