Known for its unconventional art installations and striking desert backdrop, Burning Man wrapped up this year with a series of temporary installations spread across Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. The 2024 festival’s theme, “Curiouser & Curiouser,” was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderlandencouraged participants to open themselves to wonder and fantasy.
At Burning Man, a mosaic of themes emerges across various installations, from reflections on connectivity and isolation to explorations of time and space. Installations like Nebula Shroom Grove and the Temple of Together emphasize community and unity, inviting interaction and participation. Pieces like “I’m Fine” and Tree Circle explore universal emotions and humanity’s connection to infinity, while works like Matter Out of Time and The End of Time play with perceptions of time and reality.
Read on to see 8 art installations from Western Nevada’s Black Rock Desert that were built during Burning Man 2024.
Nebula Mushroom Grove
Undergrowth Collective
Created by an international collective led by artists Silvia Rueda, Ana Maria Ortiz, and Lina Castaneda, Nebula Shroom Grove is an art installation that reflects loneliness in our hyperconnected society. Inspired by the interconnected life of mushrooms, it features modular structures that resemble natural networks. Each module acts as a mini-shelter, inviting visitors to relax and connect. Nebula encourages community interaction, highlighting the contrast between isolation and connection while celebrating the strength of community.
I’m doing well
Oleksiy Sai
“I’m Fine” reflects the universal human emotions of joy, sadness, anger, fear and love, highlighting the common response of saying “I’m fine” despite inner struggles. Created by Kyiv-based artist Oleksiy Sai, the installation resonates particularly with Ukrainians facing ongoing challenges, both personally and nationally, but the installation’s intended message is meant to be universal and shared across cultural boundaries.
The Other
Just Lewin
This year, the base of the effigy features raised wooden pathways that emphasize gathering. The design incorporates negative space beneath the structure, creating an open area with interconnected benches for the congregation. Lewin emphasizes the balance between interior and exterior spaces, focusing on both form and the spaces in between for community interaction.
Temple of the Ensemble
Caroline Ghosn
“The Temple of Togetherness,” designed by Caroline Ghosn, the first BIPOC woman to lead a temple, blends neo-Gothic, Art Deco, and Lebanese Khaizaran weaving. Selected through an international competition, the Burning Man 2024 Temple spans 95 feet in diameter and 70 feet in height, symbolizing unity and spirituality. Using sustainable materials, it invites participation from all skill levels. The design pays homage to temples of the past, creating a familiar and welcoming space.
Circle of trees
Eira Mooney and Alquem
The Tree Circle installation evokes the profound connection between humanity and infinity, with the aim of recalling our small but infinite place in the universe. Composed of seven natural bamboo trunks resembling hollow and burnt trees, it symbolises the timelessness of nature. The design creates circular spaces that promote collective coherence through a design that is both spatial and sonic.
Matter outside of time
MJ and Colin, Glass House Arts
Matter Out of Time (MOOT) is an art installation resembling a shiny, pointed ball partially embedded in the playa, with 25-foot-long aluminum tubes. It includes a captain’s station, controls, and screens inside, which initially appear inactive. Once the initiation sequence is activated, it comes to life with a flash, a video display, and sounds reminiscent of theremins, creating an imaginary journey through time.
Penumbra
ArtBuilds Collective
Penumbra is a geometric structure in the desert, appearing as a wooden monolith by day. At sunset, it transforms as a central light casts dynamic shadows on the desert floor, creating a poetic play of light and dark. Participants can adjust the height of the light, encouraging interaction and conversation. When not manually controlled, the light moves autonomously, adding to its charm.
The end of time
Andrea Greenlees and Andy Tibbetts
The End of Time is a 6.7-metre-high surreal art installation depicting a ‘murdered’ clock, symbolising the cessation of time and the perpetual state of teatime. This whimsical yet unsettling work features a climbable, collapsed clock pierced by a giant sword, with distorted numbers and hands. Atop it sits a giant teacup that can seat six people, creating an intimate space. Inside, a mysterious key hangs, adding an enigmatic touch.
#interconnected #mushroom #farm #shelter #desert #sun #installations #Burning #Man