2026 Art Listings

By: Just John
Hometown: Sonoma County, CA, United States

A decommissioned Timeline Selection Utility Xylopyli [Greek: Xylo (wood) Plyi (gate)] inadvertently installed in an unsuitable outdoor environment allowing it to be reenergized. The Xylopyli is a Möbius strip based on an ancient Roman mosaic inlaid roughly a millennium before German mathematician August Möbius made his “discovery” of his eponymous topological shape. The mosaic depicts the Hellenic god of time, Aion, passing between two timelines: one whose Axis Mundi is represented by a date palm, the other by an olive tree. “(This) Timeline S.U.X.” is inspired by the meme, “This timeline sucks.” It is meant to remind viewers that individuals have agency over their futures. If this timeline sucks then plot a better path into the future.

By: Steel Tigerlillies
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI, United States

Paper cranes are folded as acts of devotion, each one a wish made real through time, focus, and collective effort rather than luck. They remind us of shared labor and common humanity, reflecting patience, persistence, and the power of many hands working together. The crane becomes both symbol and action—a reminder that meaningful change is built slowly through care repeated again and again. In Black Rock City, this sculpture becomes a really big wish.

By: Runester
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

A nurturing oasis, a shady spot at the center of the Playa Art Park. A place to rest when touring the art of the Playa within the Art Park itself. Within the 3rd Eye Space, divination is done with friends in public, whereas it is usually done in a private setting alone or with a reader. Two of Runester’s unique art/game systems, Rune Dice & I Ching O-Matic will be installed within the space. The games tabulate the deep complexity of traditional divination within the burner party setting. Burners are inspired to participate and compare divination techniques and show others how to do them. Activities can happen day and night at random as well as at specific workshops and scheduled demos.

By: Camp Stranger Things – Art Collective
Hometown: Bozeman and Great Falls, MT; Big Bear, CA; Jackson, WY; Oslo, Norway

Lucky Deep Playa explorers may find themselves at A Cosmos Within, a meditative garden. Within the garden are benches for rest, relaxation, and reflection. An enclosed space in the Cosmos offers windows, skylights, and a comfortable refuge from the sun, wind, and dust, where visitors can select an Axis Mundi Cosmic Journey based on interactive color buttons that play a selection of meditative sound experiences. There is a guidebook within the Cosmos for those wishing for deeper exploration. A Cosmos Within offers visual and sound experiences chosen by the explorers. This community installation is a comfortable, visually interesting space to experience the axis mundi with friends, old and new.

By: Donkey
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ, United States

It’s the S we all know how to draw. Did someone show us how to draw it, or did we all just figure it out? Wikipedia says Stussy denies creating it, and it has nothing to do with Superman.

By: Kathy D’Onofrio
Hometown: Carson City, NV, United States

In a last-ditch effort to boost her popularity, Emma, the Emerald Wasp, invited her fellow freeloaders, sycophants and leeches to a week-long extravaganza at her long-abandoned childhood home. Meanwhile Norma and Shambooshka stop by to see what all the fuss is about.

By: Sean Orlando
Hometown: Richmond, CA, United States

Above and Below embodies the artistic impulse to shape our homes and communities into creative gathering spaces that evoke mystery, nature, adventure, and spirituality, reminding us that the ecosystem connects us to one another. The work proposes that the objects we build can be sustaining and intriguing artifacts of creativity and technology that carry human memory, intention, and care.

By: Liminal Collective
Hometown: Seattle, WA, United States

This is a work about speeding up and slowing down. It offers comfort and shelter in acceptance of mortality. A larger-than-life cheetah automaton features articulated joints and sprinting legs. Each limb includes multiple pivot points, allowing for fluid, lifelike motion. A large hand crank activates the mechanism, propelling the cheetah into a simulated full-speed sprint. The den is an enclosed organic shape, casting dappled shadows. Inside, cheetah cubs lounge on beanbags, accompanied by a soft ambient audio track featuring a recording of a real cheetah purring and a contemplative meditation.

By: Philip DePoala with Edge Neuroscience & Art
Hometown: Mas Ubud, Bali, Indonesia & Saugerties, NY, USA

A shrine for the supreme being Aeshtah. When the gong is struck, its sound evokes a vibrational spell to ease the passage of the god Aeshtah to its temporary residence in the mask shrine. The name Aeshtah can be roughly translated to “Breath, Death”. Aeshtah is the source of the primordial fire of creation and guides the cycles of transformation in the natural world. This 3 meter tall sculpture was hand carved out of foam with knives, then fiberglassed and painted with airbrush.

By: Andrey Sledkov and ARTsled
Hometown: Mockba, Russia & Salt Lake City, UT

An art object shaped as a cone, its sharp tip piercing upward into the sky while its broad base takes root deep in the earth. Carved into its surface are the silhouettes of human figures – souls

By: Zak Ove
Hometown: London, UK & Canary Islands, Spain

Mothership Connection reinterprets old-world artisan traditions, weaving Pacific Northwest totem craft with architectural references to sites built by enslaved and indentured labor, honoring their role in a shared, multi-racial history. The rocket-like form evokes an Afrofuturist vessel informed by Dogon cosmology. Its base recalls the Djenné mud mosque of Mali, rising into a shaft adorned with luminous masks and etched Veve symbols from the Haitian diaspora. Higher sections shift to Masonic columns and triangles, encircled by Cadillac lights referencing Western consumerism, then arches inspired by Washington’s Capitol. The crown is a monumental illuminated Mende female mask, pulsing like a radiant beacon toward the future.

By: Santiago Caro & Tixana Ospina (Outline Creative Lab)
Hometown: Bogota & Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

ALUNA emerges in the desert as a golden body of memory and consciousness. Interwoven planes hold water, where sound and light evoke the concept of Aluna, the Tayrona invisible dimension, where intention is born and thought takes shape. By turning its knobs, visitors shift frequencies and transform vibration into visible geometry through cymatics, revealing how each word and sound expands or contracts consciousness and affects a body made mostly of water. ALUNA draws from Tayrona goldwork and reinterprets the myth of El Dorado, not as a commodity, but as a sacred bond between human, ancestral, and spiritual realms. The work is created by Colombian artists and spouses Santiago Caro and Tixana Ospina. It is born from love, ancestral wisdom, and a commitment to positive impact for Indigenous communities in Colombia.

By: Kathy D’Onofrio
Hometown: Carson City, NV, United States

Tabitha the Tarantula Hawk has received an invitation to A Svengali Gala taking place way out by The Trash Fence. She must now quickly subdue her latest conquest while she contemplates what to wear to this most hypnotic occasion.

By: Anthony Fieldman & Mark Slee
Hometown: New York, NY, United States

Apotheneum (place of divine elevation) is a visual, sonic, and haptic instrument intended to “transport” visitors through participatory immersion. Comprised of two nested chambers made of back-to-back LED nets, Apotheneum presents multiple canvases and an immersive sound system for collaborating visual and sound artists. Apotheneum’s cubic antechamber envelops a cylindrical “inner sanctum” that opens to the sky. Within this chamber, a pressure-sensing “bed” offers multiple vantage points for the three primary senses to be engaged. Intended as a “slow” space, the light and sound art that Apotheneum will feature are designed to encourage pause and contemplation.

By: Veli-Veikko Elomaa
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland

The Arctic Court is built on the philosophical premise that the human condition is a beautiful paradox of resilience and fragility, much like ice itself—simultaneously crystalline and strong, yet transient and vulnerable. This expansive canvas hosts a full 360° immersive projection of ethereal characters in ice-and-snow-inspired artistry. The semi-transparent walls allow the internal spectacle to bleed outside, veiling the interior in mystery and compelling curiosity. Within this reflective realm, visitors don’t just watch—they become part of the living art, their reflections forever woven into the Arctic Court’s narrative.

By: Adam Keeton
Hometown: Denver, CO, United States

Arcturus is an interactive sculpture that breathes. The breathing deepens and its lighting changes when people are near. Arcturus is designed to look alien and unfamiliar, but feel distinctly relatable and alive.

By: Mahshid Moghadasi and Aysan Jafarzadeh, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

As Above, So Within draws inspiration from Attar’s 12th-century Persian poem The Conference of the Birds, in which the birds journey in search of the Simurgh, a mythical Persian bird, only to discover that what they sought was already manifest within themselves. The Mandelbulb was chosen as a fractal form that repeats across scales, suggesting that the same underlying order appears in the cosmos, nature and the self. Through recursive geometry and shifting light, the sculpture evokes a contemplative atmosphere resonant with Persian architecture, where repetition and illumination draw the mind inward. As Above, So Within proposes that the meaning we seek in the universe may also be found within ourselves.

By: Diane Hoffoss with ArtBuilds
Hometown: San Diego, CA, United States

Axion Seed is a participatory light sculpture exploring the dawning of self awareness. At its center, a mirrored rotating cylinder sits within a pentagonal enclosure, sending discrete beams of light outward to mirrored surfaces that return them inward, folding back toward their source. As participants gently turn the cylinder, the light paths shift and recombine into evolving lattices that respond directly to human touch. The installation renders a visible feedback loop in which action produces reflection and reflection produces awareness, imagining a being that first radiates freely into space without self knowledge, and only upon the return of its own light begins to perceive itself as a source.

By: Sergei Konchekov
Hometown: New York, NY, United States

Axis Mundi: Resonant Spire rises from the desert as a new form of hybrid architecture — neither monument nor machine, but a living signal. Constructed from ascending conical volumes encircled by programmable rings of light, the structure releases phased waves that travel upward like a visible breath. Illumination intensifies, fades, and collapses into silence, transforming the tower into a temporal instrument rather than a static object. Matter and algorithm intertwine; structure becomes frequency; architecture becomes event. In the vast emptiness of the playa, the spire stands as a meditation on resonance — a threshold where technology turns ritual and light becomes the language of presence.

By: Mitya Segal
Hometown: Novato, CA, United States

Axis of Stillness is an 8-foot pyramid of hand-laid mosaic tile mounted on an engineered EMT conduit frame. Four identical triangular panels — each assembled from mirrored, colored tiles — reflect sunlight in shifting patterns by day and glow with concealed LED lighting by night. The piece references ancient sacred geometry to create a contemplative focal point: a quiet center amid the motion of Black Rock City. It is the first chapter of a multi-year installation sequence, with plans to engage a local school community before returning to the playa in an evolved form.

By: Mavi Blue & The Door Keepers
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT, United States

Azulita’s Door is a hand-painted doorway that stands alone in the desert, framed by warm marquee bulbs and accompanied by an illuminated plaque and painted details. Inspired by thresholds, memory, and transformation, the piece centers on the symbolic act of passing from one inner world to another. Vintage hardware, layered murals, and soft lighting give the feeling of an old portal carrying many histories. By day it appears whimsical and intimate; by night the lit doorway becomes a glowing focal point against the playa, and the moon may appear through the open door as part of the works natural setting. The installation is approachable, ADA accessible, and designed to hold quiet reflection, wonder, and personal meaning.

By: Josh Harris
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

You are carefree riding your bicycle near the outer boundary of Burning Man. In the distance you see a beacon of light. A glow of a different color. You ride closer to inspect. Several glowing lights in shades of fuchsia and gold become apparent upon arrival. It stands the height of 15 hands. Not quite a full horse you think. A button and a crank adorn the sides of the small obelisk. Messages of cryptic origin and unknown meaning on its sides. What is this thing I’ve stumbled upon, you wonder?

By: Barry Crawford
Hometown: Silver Springs, NV, United States

Beetle is a giant mechanical hercules beetle with opening wing covers and other moving parts.

By: Spencer Hansen and Team
Hometown: Grass Valley, CA / Bali & Java, Indonesia

Behind Closed Eyes is a 16-foot hollow sculpture hand-carved from retired Indonesian fishing vessels and reclaimed structural timber. Its exterior features repeating, topographic-like ridges that reveal deep texture, visible tool marks, and natural patina. Copper accents suggest eyes and a spine. The crouching figure sits at ground level, with knees drawn in and hands covering its eyes. The posture conveys awareness and quiet presence. At night, a soft glow illuminates the sculpture from within. The interior is smooth, with rounded wooden surfaces and multi-level perimeter benches forming a fort-like chamber where enclosure, scale, and texture evoke shelter, imagination, and the quiet space of inward reflection.

By: Black Rock Observatory
Hometown: Portland, Los Angeles, Dubai, Vancouver BC, Mammendorf Germany

Black Rock Observatory serves as a gateway to the wonders of the cosmos. The Observatory brings together thousands of participants to experience views of planets, galaxies and nebulae, sharing meteorites, and giving talks on a multitude of scientific topics. A beautiful wooden observatory dome houses an 8-foot tall Dobsonian reflector telescope, and several other smaller telescopes that participants can use to view the night sky. And there’s a solar telescope in the afternoon!

By: Dolce Remi and Esmeralda
Hometown: Nevada City, CA, United States

Bless My Meat is a swine shrine that stands in deep playa beneath a celestial arc of throbbing pink LEDs. Exhalted upon a pink pedestal is Pinky, a crocheted pig with red cat eyes, shark teeth, and pointed witchy shoes. Across from her, a small altar bears the phrase “Present Your Meat for Blessing.” A button on the altar sounds different “meat blessings,” all created and recorded by fellow Burners. The installation blends ritual with absurdity and transforms a stuffed porker into a plush prophet. Through humor, sound, and light, Pinky explores the sacred and the profane by celebrating our individual interpretations of “meat” and the irreverent yet transcendent communal spirit of Black Rock City.

By: RedShadow
Hometown: Suzhou, China & New York, NY

Blooming is an immersive kinetic art installation which consists of a cluster of large, sculptural flowers. Celebrating the quiet strength, warmth, and resilience of women: especially mothers. Petals unfold as visitors approach, glowing with color and whispering soft sounds as if breathing in shared life.

By: Joseph S Berman
Hometown: Sterling, MA, United States

Geez, what does a spaceport look like? This one has a 20-foot tall beacon surrounded by 4 departure/arrival posts, plus at least one plastic alien with a rolly suitcase who might reanimate themselves at any time.

By: Lysa Morgan / Dazzle!
Hometown: Livermore, CA, United States

We provide meals to the art builders.

By: Sadie Lyn Rhoads – DRAGON
Hometown: Ogden, UT, United States

B R E A T H E is here to support you on your journey where ever you may be in the moment. BREATHE is here for you through out your whole burn. Whether it’s from a distance or when you are next to her.. you will feel the energy she is here to help you shift through the dust through the rain, and THROUGH THE SHINE. Here to remind you to do something very important she is here to remind you BREATHE and connect back with your body. There is more to experience there at her heart so make sure you stop by to say hi to see the messages that are there for you. From our hearts to yours …. BREATHE

By: Eric E. Brown, Jr.
Hometown: Nashville, TN and Brooklyn, NY

Brews 12 v Uno is a communal gathering installation exploring Black joy, sacred play, and conversation as ritual. The sculpture rises as an illuminated vessel beneath a cloud of symbolic cards referencing card games, flavored drinks, chance, and improvisation in culture. A circular seating space invites participants to sit, rest, and share spontaneous dialogue with strangers. Inspired by Black theological traditions of embodiment and becoming, the work proposes Joy as sacred practice. By day the installation offers a place of pause and connection. By night it glows as a landmark on the playa. Brews 12 v Uno invites participants to experience play, rhythm, and conversation as forms of collective healing and celebration.

By: Just John
Hometown: Sacramento, CA, United States

Enlarged rendition of a favorite childhood toy which includes an interactive life cycle, allowing participants to share in the growth of a virtual pet over the course of the event.

By: OctoEyes
Hometown: Seattle, WA, United States

Canis Minor, the Lesser Dog, the dog that goes before. A shiny dog’s head sparkling day and night. Dedicated to all the small dogs with big personalities who left us too soon. They wait in the sky to guide us onward.

By: Purple Cow Arts
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV, United States

Cardinal Gates explores the passage of time and how life is made up of fleeting, ever-changing moments. Our piece honors the cardinal directions and the sundials before them that have guided explorers for thousands of years. We are all explorers finding our way. The gates are a pop of saturated color in the playa landscape. Up close, during the day, they create a moving story of shadows capturing time. The flags are custom-dyed in vibrant colors inspired by the sky, representing our personal mythology of the directions. You can find your way following each of the four cardinal directions – North, East, South, or West. The flags & benches are made out of upcycled, reprinted convention banner fabrics and metal poles.

By: Michael Ciulla, Walid Nasrala
Hometown: San Francisco, CA & Beirut, Lebanon

This artwork reimagines Carnac’s impulse to inscribe meaning into landscape through repetition and alignment. Like Carnac, which communicates through rhythm, spacing, and silent presence, these 1,000 forms create a field where individuality and collectivity merge. Each sculpture is humble, yet together they form a vast geometry understood through movement. This work embodies the tension between the singular and the collective, mirroring Black Rock City’s community. Each piece stands alone, yet only through their thousand-fold repetition does the full vision emerge—a contemporary megalith born from humble multiplicity.

By: Dan Barnes (Tinker), The Tinkers Knot
Hometown: St. George, UT, United States

The Center of the Universe is a 36″ diameter metal art piece that looks like a manhole cover. It is designed for participants to stand on the art and take a picture of their feet and the art piece. There is a 26 foot arrow set at an angle and pointing to the Center of the Universe. During the day the arrow can be seen from a distance as it is painted green. At night the arrow is lit with green plasma LED string lights (the same as “The Question” in 2025).

By: D’Milo Hallerberg
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA, United States

A unique gathering place for any and all persons to perform or participate in celebrations affirming commitment. It is a 27 foot tall steel frame structure covered in white nylon. It takes its inspiration from the tide pool mollusk of the same name.

By: Jillian Culver and the Pilot Hill Artist Collective
Hometown: Truckee, CA, United States

The Cocoon is a crocheted shelter that serves as a safe space for rest, reflection, and wonder. Before a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, it must spin a fibrous cocoon and take time to rebuild strength before transformation can occur. Humans as well must incorporate periods of rest before taking flight into the world with strength and renewed purpose. To enter the cocoon, one must get down on the ground and crawl in, symbolizing the humility involved in self reflection and hitting bottom before rising to the top. At the top is a silk flag symbolizing movement and flight. Inside the cocoon are carpet, pillows, and blankets for comfort during a moment of rest. Even with delicate stitching, we can build strength through structure.

By: Deborah A. Lambin
Hometown: Carson City, NV, United States

Coming Home is an immersive art installation celebrating the extraordinary journey people take from around the world to gather in Black Rock City. A sweeping wooden archway is covered with colorful directional signs representing cities and countries across the globe, each showing the distance traveled to reach the playa. At the center, a compass bearing the Burning Man symbol marks the shared destination that draws us all together. As visitors walk beneath the arch, they see places both familiar and distant, reminding us that while we come from every direction, we are united through creativity, connection, and community. In that moment, we realize something beautiful: we didn’t just arrive at Burning Man… we came home.

By: Jen Reed
Hometown: San Francisco, CA & DeRidder, LA

You are the Earthworm that found the compost in the soil. This claimable structure invites you to crawl, explore, interact and learn, naturally.

By: Jacob Hanshaw and Looking Up Arts
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

An art nouveau altar-shaped circus wagon containing three confessional booths and a reflection area intended to provide a space for vulnerability, connection, and self-reconciliation outside of any authority structures. Confessors are given the option to speak directly or anonymously through an AI proxy which rephrases (for instance as a pirate or in haiku) and inevitably distorts communication, raising the question of how much is gained and lost in digital encounters. The absurdity or frustration of the AI may drive them to drop the veil of the artificial for a heart-to-heart connection or they may find joy in the play of a pirate haiku telephone game of soul searching in an ornate circus wagon in the middle of a desert.

By: Daniel Nebot + Miguel Arraiz
Hometown: Valencia, Spain

Correfoc is a freestanding sculptural installation approximately 26 feet tall, conceived as a stylized human silhouette inspired by Mediterranean fire rituals. Built in wood and finished in a vibrant red tone, the piece stands as a striking landmark in the desert landscape. At night, subtle lighting enhances its silhouette and amplifies the presence of surrounding fire performances. The work explores the human silhouette as an ancestral symbol, where fire, ritual, and collective movement converge into a shared, ephemeral presence. Correfoc is envisioned as a daily gathering point for the fire dancers of Burning Man. During a special event, a traditional fire dance will unfold around the sculpture prior to its burning, linking Mediterranean traditions with the transformative culture of Burning Man.

By: Rachel O’Hara
Hometown: Honolulu, HI

What’s your trauma you need to turn into ART? That’s what this is. It’s dedicated to loss and the era of (the incompetent) DARE. We take it and ask, Does Art Reside Everywhere? In everything? What does it look like? For this piece the artist wanted to show that you can take the hurt and make it large, and possibly disturbing, ART. Having lost a sibling to heroin overdose this is a tribute to them.

By: Alpine Artists Collective
Hometown: Alpine Meadows, CA, United States

Disco Mushroom is a merry-go-round sculpture built from recycled wooden spools and wrapped in more than 100,000 mirrored disco tiles that shimmer and scatter light in every direction. A red polka-dot canopy blooms overhead, creating a shaded space with seating beneath it. By day, thousands of tiny mirrors reflect the sky, dust, and passing faces in sparkling fragments. By night, color-shifting lights transform it into a glowing, spinning constellation. Disco Mushroom celebrates reflection, play, and the strange beauty of small moments shining together.

By: Luke Lin, Auroborium
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

Seven Vietnamese basket boats drift across a sea of lanterns on the ancient seabed of the Black Rock Desert. Back when fishermen wove bamboo into vessels, the boats float between what they were and what they’re becoming. The lanterns draw from longheld Asian traditions where light holds space for what we cannot yet reach. Together, boats and lanterns hold both sides of being lost: what we’re letting go of and what hasn’t taken shape yet. A dock marks the shore with a bustling soundscape and a trilingual poem. Beyond, caustic light ripples like shallow water. The lanterns thicken, the sound softens, the shore fades. At the far edge, a single boat and a single lantern sit in near silence. The crossing doesn’t resolve. It holds.

By: DG Group
Hometown: San Jose, CA, United States

An enlarged paper airplane and paper boat made out of wood stand as symbols of courage and trust. The airplane represents our deepest dreams — the ones we often keep hidden inside our hearts. It reminds us that dreams are not meant to stay folded. They are meant to be released into open space and given the chance to rise. The paper boat represents faith and surrender the willingness to let life carry our dreams forward, to trust the current even when we cannot see the destination. Together, they invite people to free their dreams to the planet — to give them air and flow, movement and possibility. Follow your dreams. Do not bury them. Let them fly and let them flow

By: Ron Bearden and Dreamweaver Team
Hometown: Portland, OR, United States

The Dreamweaver Labyrinth Project is a classical seven-circuit Cretan labyrinth on the playa. Four-foot-wide paths spiral inward to a sixteen-foot open center, all ground-level. Solid blue LED rope lights the way at night, powered off-grid by solar panels, batteries, and low-voltage wiring—dust-proof and wind-anchored. Participants enter freely, walk the meditative turns, pause in the center for reflection or sharing. It welcomes everyone: wheelchair-accessible, multilingual signs, no barriers. Built for wonder amid chaos—proof that quiet space exists even here.

By: Seth Johnson
Hometown: Carson City, NV, United States

DRIVEN begins with a simple truth: even the smallest things can hold up the world. A railroad spike is humble and easily overlooked, yet carries the weight of journey, labor, longing, and connection. Enlarged to monumental scale, it honors immigrant, Indigenous, African American, and working-class hands that shaped the land and laid the tracks of the American West.

By: Valerie Mallory
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

Duende is drawn from Spanish folklore which refers to the mysterious force that evokes awe and emotional intensity. Duende represents that sudden joy of recognition, the moment when authentic beauty becomes suddenly apparent; the spark of wonder that cannot be manufactured or denied. Valerie Mallory has been exhibiting work at Burning Man for 10 years and has been participating at Burning Man as a volunteer for 20 years

By: La Famiglia
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

A mirage of civilization, half-remembered and half-imagined. Out in deep playa, where nothing stands and everything is possible, a Roman-inspired piazza appears. At the corner, the façade of an ancient palazzo meets the Dusty Trattoria, returning after its debut at Burning Man 2025. The first thing you notice is the ground beneath your feet: cobblestone. Someone paved the playa… and suddenly the mirage feels real. Not a monument to power, but a monument to life.

By: Calli Beck – Stark Raven Fab
Hometown: Santa Fe, NM, United States

Dusty Heart is a stainless steel sculpture shaped like a massive tumbleweed, its woven metal branches forming a sphere that cradles a glowing fire at its core. Nearby, a small covered wagon filled with firewood and an elevated fire pit create a scene reminiscent of a nomadic desert encampment. The polished steel reflects the flickering flames, while the sculpture’s organic, wind-tossed form captures the energy of motion and transformation. Together, the elements evoke warmth, impermanence, and the timeless rhythm between humanity, nature, and fire.

By: Philippe Maindron
Hometown: La Gaubretière, France

It is a metal representation of the Eiffel Tower, similar to the one created for the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, at a 1:10 scale. This version will be cut in two, as if it had crashed into the desert after a chaotic journey: • The lower section, with its four legs planted in the ground, symbolizes the sinking of a lost civilization, • While the top of the tower, pointing toward the sky, offers hope for a brighter future. A cable will be stretched between the two peaks so that a tightrope walker can cross from one end to the other.

By: Abram Santa Cruz
Hometown: Long Beach, CA, United States

The Electric Dandelion is a 24 ft. tall dandelion sculpture that doubles as fireworks at night. The dandelion bulb comes to life at night as the LED animations take hold and mesmerize you with their bright and intense light show. Sit down and enjoy the lights or dance and see the beautiful geometrically designed metal and acrylic sculpture.

By: Arterra Techtonics
Hometown: Brasov, Romania

We try to imitate and follow this sacred flow of natural rhythm, and work with the environment, looking for forms that will combine together without the need for too much human intervention. Nothing is needed except cleaning, and ensuring the balanced connection between the pieces, with screws that give the structure durability, and prolong the magical life of a creature like this. Working intuitively, and using all imaginable perspectives, without disturbing the obvious form that defines the dragon, we always offer the observer the opportunity to go further in the dimension of imagination, adding their creativity to the fractal, which we are able to co-create. We invite you to the incredible sensory experience of meeting a dragon in person.

By: CAT Camp
Hometown: Houston, TX, United States

Direct from the blessed soil of Elysara comes a single, displaced specimen of the Caudex mnemosyne. Unlike the “killer plants” of sci-fi tropes or the death-worlds Burners are familiar with, this Pachycaul-like organism is not a predator—it is a scavenger. Enlightenment is a biological curiosity that harvests the one thing humans possess in toxic excess: unwanted memories. It survives by metabolizing your regrets and the heavy weight of the past. Some specimens have learned how to communicate. The flower is around six feet in diameter and has attractive lights to lure entities in range. Like Terran plants which provide fruit and shelter – Enlightenment provides shelter, light, and a place to rest while it feeds on your unwanted baggage.

By: Michael Christian, Dallas Swindle & Auriah Jade
Hometown: Bay Area, CA, United States

A monument to collective motion, EPOD is a rotating steel landscape powered by the most renewable energy source on Earth: people who refuse to sit still. It turns restlessness into art. Capacity: 80 humans. Runtime: indefinite.

By: Cogitaro
Hometown: Mountain Lakes, NJ, United States

Delving into the neuroscience of biophotons. The work is an artistic interpretation of the interactive communication of light energy between two opposite forces. It also philosophically shows how starting from the same raw light/energy, endless variations are hidden within.

By: Paul Kelleher
Hometown: Burbank, CA, United States

face2face is as simple as could be. A chair for “you” and a chair for “your new friend”. You sit and who will appear to sit with you? Will the conversation flow? Will it be exciting, awkward-or maybe even playa magical? You’ll never know unless you sit.

By: Fire Gnome Collective
Hometown: Northampton, MA, Emeryville, CA, Los Angeles, CA, & Seattle, WA

The Fire Gnome Collective is thrilled to bring this 30-foot timber and steel installation to Black Rock City. We are ready to build a space for the community to play and explore on the playa. We can’t wait to share the Fire Gnome’s communal burn and the secrets revealed!

By: Jai Hackl
Hometown: Martinsville, Australia

A steel caduceus rises from the Playa, a sword entwined with twin serpents and crowned with the wings of Hermes and an all-seeing eye. Forged from stainless steel, brass, and mild steel, it bends and scatters desert light, appearing watchful and alive in the dust. The serpents coil through ancient dualities of creation and destruction, obedience and rebellion, and cycles carried through tradition and rarely questioned. The sword forms an axis of power, both guardian and threat. Above, Hermes’ wings speak of transcendence and ascent, while the mirrored eye returns fractured reflections of the viewer, reminding us that perception is always partial, and truth remains just beyond our grasp.

By: Ashley Bennett-Stoddard
Hometown: Seaside, CA, United States

Freedom Dancers is a circle of seven monumental, tree-like human figures rising approximately 10–13 feet tall from the desert floor. Constructed from steel armatures with textured papercrete surfaces, the sculptures combine the human form with branching limbs and open negative space that allows light and shadow to move through the work. Each figure represents a stage in the transformation of grief into compassion. Arranged in a circle, the dancers create a quiet visual dialogue about resilience, healing, and the shared emotional experiences that connect humanity.

By: Irina and Stanislav Shminke
Hometown: Yekaterinburg & Moscow, Russia

An broken wooden bridge rises from the playa and stops in open air, as if the rest has slipped into another world. By day, cut patterns in the deck cast drifting shadows of water and fish onto the dust below, moving with the sun and changing with each passing body overhead. By night, a river of light appears beneath the span, where ghost desert salmon glide through a current that is not there. At the broken end, distant beams carry the bridge into darkness, suggesting a passage completed not by structure, but by imagination, memory, and the shared dream of a place that briefly becomes real.

By: Milan York
Hometown: Portland, OR, United States

God Is in Your Spine features a single 3D anatomical spine (~34″) rising from a squared three-step plywood podium. The participant sits with their back to the spine, and breath triggers LEDs that climb the vertebrae, tracing the ascent of inner energy. By day, the spine presents a striking sculptural form; by night, its glow creates a luminous, meditative field. Rooted in Kriya Yoga, the piece embodies the spine as the body’s axis, connecting inner awareness to the cosmos, and weaves individual presence into a reflective, collective resonance across the playa.

By: Christopher Schardt
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

Hahalua is a 24′ manta ray, hanging overhead, whose wings are made to flap when visitors swing on a wide porch swing below. The bottom of Hahalua is covered with 25,000 LEDs, which display patterns choreographed to classical music and classic rock.

By: Linda Qian and the Harmonic Orbiters
Hometown: Cambridge, MA; Toronto, Ontario & Squamish, BC, Canada

Harmonic Orbiter transforms the simple act of tilting into a playful experiment in collective motion, where strangers discover harmony through shared balance and movement. Small actions build momentum, creating moments of synchronicity and connection.

By: MSALIGNED CREATIVE LTD.
Hometown: Wellington, New Zealand & Denver, Colorado

Headwaters is inspired by the spiritual symbolism of Mount Kailash, long regarded as the Axis Mundi. The installation draws from this idea of a central source, with gradually rising bamboo poles creating a landscape of ascension and carving out a journey defined by detours, uncertainty, and gradual revelation. The work explores themes of origin, convergence, and inner alignment, offering a space for reflection, manifestation, and meeting oneself in a moment of stillness.

By: Cassandra Caron, James Trebesch, Ocean Fabrication
Hometown: Alameda, CA & Emeryville, CA

Heart of Intentions is a place to gather, reflect, and connect. Its large wooden heart design quietly invites pause and contemplation. Visitors are encouraged to consider a hope or intention they wish to bring into the world. That intention is written on a small charm (provided) and placed upon the heart, joining a growing constellation of shared wishes. In return, a charm left by another is chosen and carried away, completed with the materials provided and worn as a small piece of jewelry. Each exchange sends a stranger’s hope back out into the world. Over time, the heart fills with these offerings, becoming a living reminder that unseen threads connect us all, and that even the smallest act of care can ripple far beyond a single moment.

By: Giselle Cisel Cakiroglu
Hometown: Miami, FL & Istanbul, Turkey

Heart Remains is a monumental light sculpture rising from the open desert. A suspended heart form is held within rib-like structures that appear both protective and exposed. Subtle movement and shifting light give the piece a quiet sense of breath and presence. At night, illumination reveals the delicate inner geometry of the structure. The work reflects the need for emotional boundaries that people create to remain true to themselves while staying soft at their core. Balancing strength and vulnerability, Heart Remains explores how protection can exist without hardness, and how the heart can remain open while still honoring its soft nature.

By: Elizabeth Laul Healey & Duffy Healey
Hometown: Wilson, NC & Escondido, CA

Honey, is a Positivity Watchdog, spreading good energy, warmth, and joy wherever she goes. The watch on her collar is set to 11:11 because she is all about celebrating oneness, and making wishes come true. The circular motifs on her body represent our journey within the circles of life, and each piece is chosen to reflect the beauty of the world around us. The circles are designed with gemstones, geodes and various rocks representing mother nature’s gifts from the past, today and future. Thousands of hand cut, gold-colored mirrors are strategically applied which create a beautiful light that constantly shifts in color and reflections throughout the day. So let’s embrace positivity and manifest good things together!

By: Mojca Pacnik
Hometown: Ljubljana, Slovenia

HOPE is a metal lotus flower rising from the desert dust. It rises as a luminous point of orientation – a reminder to turn inward, to breathe, and to rediscover what truly matters. In a world full of noise, this art invites stillness and reflection, guiding us toward our inner divine, where peace and resilience live. Symbolizing awakening and rebirth, it offers a sacred space for meditation at sunrise and reflection at sunset – a place of peace, unity, and shared human connection and connection between sky, earth, and the unseen. HOPE celebrates the beauty and the power of the collaboration. Created by many hands and minds from different countries, it expresses the infinite potential that blooms when we connect with ourselves, each other, and the universe.

By: Eric Sagotsky
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA, United States

Inspired by succulents in the arid desert, Hortus Lux is a restful oasis by day and an invitation to play by night. Each of the five woven hammock leaves accommodates two. Seated burners listen to guided meditations synced to light and haptic vibrations.

By: The Dusty Jackals
Hometown: Reno, NV; Oakland, CA & Vancouver, Canada

Our installation is a vessel for the spirit of John Little—St. John The Bastard—whom we lost in April of 2025. His life was a flame woven into the fabric of Black Rock City. John saw the playa as a temple and a crucible, where work became ritual and community became art. House of the Jackal King is an immersive, exploration-driven art project commemorating the life and creative power of the late John Bastard Little, a pivotal member of the DPW community. It will be a large-scale installation built from recycled, reclaimed, and purpose-made materials, including a central tower and five outward-facing sculpture gardens inside a five-pointed star-shaped fence. The complete structure is intentionally designed for a controlled burn.

By: Jacqueline Dougherty
Hometown: Lodi, CA, United States

Two burners from different sides of the country met on playa and discussed their childhoods. While so much was different, adorably similar memories shined through. “Remember those beaded lizards?” “My mom still has all of mine!” “I gave all mine away.” How We Were Raised is a conversation inspired by a childhood craft and what we might choose to do with something we create. Were you raised to cherish your efforts? Or to gift to those around you? The adults that we become are so influenced by those who are around us when we’re young, and then we are the adults. How do we learn how to gift to those in our community? Or outside of it? Would you teach your children the same as you were taught?

By: Delicious
Hometown: Nevada City, CA

Hugging booth for interactive hug experiences.

By: Runester
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

A magical spinner stands aside a record-keeping console that graphically tracks the 6 line results of traditional I Ching practice. The I Ching O-Matic has 64 wooden tablets that provide extraordinary details about any type of question asked. The oracle fosters experiences of deep relevance that tend to become valuable gifts long after the burn. Divination techniques done in a public burner setting allow for deep spirit messages to be shared with friends. Witnessing divination synchronicity in action generates trust and inspiration in the process. The results can touch people directly and tend to activate future off-playa transformations.

By: Knight Rider
Hometown: San Diego, CA, United States

Several lamps sprout from the ground, looking for light they cannot give themselves.

By: Julia Alora
Hometown: Portland, OR, United States

A larger than life lounging lizard jam packed with musical elements. Remniscent of childhood toys, this iguana brings out the inner child in burners of all ages.

By: illumaphonium
Hometown: Somerset, United Kingdom

illumaphonium is a dynamic and interactive, multisensory, music-making installation, the first of its kind. This semi-acoustic, semi-automatic, multiplayer musical sculpture stands over 11 feet tall and consists of more than a hundred illuminated chime bars. Each bar responds to touch with ever-changing patterns of light and sound, spreading out like waves over the giant instrument’s surface and bringing people together into a fun and spontaneous music-making experience.

By: Ross Butler and Coneheads Local 208
Hometown: Boise, ID, United States

Illumicone is light art driven by participation and interaction. A softly glowing presence draws participants inside, where they encounter strange mechanical widgets. As they play with the widgets, patterns of light move in response, surrounding the participants with a dazzling spectacle of color of their own creation. Illumicone is 19 feet tall at its center and 38 feet across at its base. Cables descending from the top of the cone carry 4800 individually controlled LEDs. Inside the cone are interactive, mechanical widgets. Participants manipulate the widgets, causing patterns of light to dance across the LEDs. Some widgets drive colored lines and rings, while others create sparkles or showers of color droplets.

By: Sally Guzman
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

Born from Sally Guzman’s personal journey through loss in 2025, In This Moment transforms the isolation of grief into a communal act of remembrance. Inspired by the myth of the forest witch who offers to simply listen. Sally has created a physical threshold for the weary. It is a place built for the “us” and the “now”—a sanctuary where telling a story makes the lost present once more. Sit, tell me about them. Will it bring them back? It will, for us, in this moment

By: Whitney Webb
Hometown: Asheville, NC & Townsend, TN

Inheritance is a solitary Appalachian pie safe cabinet standing in the desert. Traditionally used to store food behind ventilated tin panels, the cabinet is reimagined here as a keeper of quieter knowledge. Inside are jars of herbs, persimmon seeds used for winter prediction, handwritten remedies, and other fragments of Appalachian domestic life. When the doors open, the back of the cabinet reveals a glass mountain sunset, transporting participants unexpectedly from the playa into the Appalachian landscape. The work reflects a tradition where practical knowledge of land, weather, and healing was carried quietly by women and passed through generations as lived inheritance. Visitors are invited to open the cabinet and discover what remains.

By: Wes Overlin
Hometown: Twin Falls, ID, United States

Internal light

By: Jonathan Endrizzi and friends
Hometown: Sacramento, CA, United States

The Iron Butterfly of Love rises from the playa as a radiant guardian of the night. With brilliant LED wings stretching across the darkness, he shines brightly so that wanderers, dreamers, and dancers can always find their way. His light is a beacon — a symbol of safety, connection, and wonder in the vast desert. The Iron Butterfly communicates through sound, responding to music, voices, and the rhythm of the crowd. Every beat, every laugh, every song becomes part of his living conversation. The Butterfly reminds us that love, like music, transcends borders, cultures, and differences. Under his glowing wings, strangers become friends, and the universal language of sound brings hearts together.

By: Sorta Good ART
Hometown: Portland, OR, United States

It’s a TRAP! is the biggest game of mouse trap jenga you will ever find!

By: JoLean Barkley & WENDO
Hometown: New Orleans, LA, United States

Just A Spoonful is not just any umbrella, it’s a larger-than-life adaptation of Mary Poppins’ enchanted umbrella. Both a nostalgic tribute to this classic childhood character and homage to New Orleans culture, where umbrellas are often used as celebratory accessories in second lines. Mary Poppins has just floated in from a New Orleans parade, landing in Black Rock City, abandoning her umbrella to take in playa delights. We are offering Black Rock City a nostalgic warm hug from our beloved nanny.

By: Nele Cools
Hometown: Diest, Belgium & Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Two strangers sitting on chairs and admiring the sunrise. A moment to rest and enjoy the simple things in life. A piece that invites to explore in the tiny detail or just to do nothing at all. Of course the playa always provides, maybe in a dream, maybe as the long-expected answer to a question, maybe in a conversation with another Burner.

By: Dan Going and Robert Montenegro
Hometown: Liberty, NY

A different take on the world tree, as a triangular kaleidoscopic tunnel standing 9′ 8″ tall and 36′ 4″ long. The organic design of the entrance represents the roots of the Cosmic Tree, our past and our connection to the natural world. The kaleidoscopic tunnel is the trunk of the tree. The interior and exterior of the piece will be covered in highly reflective aluminum sheets. During the day the sunlight shines through giving a stained glass effect that will reflect colors across the inside. In contrast to the organic entrance the opposite end is covered in video monitors, with bundles of wires wrapping all around, representing our collective future.

By: Studio Woo Woo
Hometown: Nevada City & San Francisco, CA

Hundreds of fused-glass monarch butterflies cascade in a brilliant murmuration, forming an archway of shifting light. By day, the sun catches the glass and projects colorful shadows. By night, each individually lit butterfly takes part in a prismatic dance. The piece meditates on inheritance and stewardship, mirroring the monarch’s transgenerational migration. They traverse North America, naturally transcending political borders, relying on subsequent generations to complete a journey no single individual can finish. Kaleidoscope, also the name for a swarm of butterflies, honors this lineage of care, illustrating how human continuity depends on mutual reliance and the collective wisdom passed to those who follow.

By: John H. Dill III and Team
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

Keyhole to Other Dimensions is a freestanding wooden installation inspired by Dill’s illustration project Trip Number and more than a decade of photographing Burning Man. Rising about ten feet tall, the sculpture reads as a keyhole from the front and back and a key-like form from the sides. Layered wood ribs, shelves, and hidden compartments create depth throughout the structure. Photographs from the playa and illustrated imagery appear across its surfaces and interior spaces. Benches at the base offer a place to pause and look outward across the playa, while openings and interior spaces invite closer looking and discovery. At night, low amber light beneath the benches and subtle uplighting from the ground reveal the structure’s depth.

By: ArtBuilds
Hometown: San Diego, CA, United States

LAMP draws visitors in with mesmerizing shadow patterns dancing across triangular shade sails. Inside, a cozy nest of pillows and rugs awaits beneath a canopy of shimmering LED pebble lights. Hidden buttons scattered throughout the space trigger synchronized light and sound experiences—deep bass vibrates through the platform while color washes across the sails above. The installation rewards curiosity and collaboration, as certain button combinations unlock different shows. LAMP is an acronym, but its meaning is open to interpretation. Two of our favorites: Love All My People and Light Amplifies Magical Possibilities.

By: Oskar
Hometown: Miami, FL & New York, NY

The Ballerina is part of the Let it Go series, and is meant to inspire people to let go of what does not serve any longer in order to grow. Life is not about finding yourself, but recreating yourself. At night, the Ballerina will be surrounded by solar firefly lights portraying dancing in a twinkle garden in the middle of the playa. The heart LED colors mimics fire & serves as a focal point for wandering souls on the playa at night.

By: Taylor Dean Harrison
Hometown: Penngrove, CA, United States

Limen is a sculptural installation composed of three vertically oriented steel forms and a surrounding field of seating elements. Each structure is built from layered sheet metal, combining an outer patterned skin with a darker perforated interior to produce shifting effects of surface, depth, and shadow. By day, the painted metal registers changing light conditions; by night, internal moving illumination projects patterns into the surrounding space. The work draws on visual languages associated with circuitry, topography, camouflage, wood grain, and abstracted maze structures, positioning them within a hybrid techno-organic vocabulary shaped by uncertainty, adaptation, and emergence.

By: Lead artist: Daisy Mae Jones; Crew: Leah Jones, Fig Bindel
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

An actual log, a hunk of tree – one of our most precious resources, displayed like the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian. Is it an ancient relic? Trees once abundant now clearcut into extinction. Evidence from the scene of the crime where deforestation wiped away habitats and allowed lands to erode. Is it a celebration of the glory of nature? A lovely piece of wood, a natural marvel, to be admired as a fine jewel. An elegant example of what mother earth creates without our help. Logs which provide so much in the default world for houses and habitats and warmth from a fire, and in BRC as the framework for the Man, the Temple. And, a nod to my fave cartoon, IYKYK.

By: Franzi Ponzi and the Homo Erectors
Hometown: Portland OR, Oakland CA, & Reno NV

Lookout! is a 48-foot-tall fire lookout tower absurdly disguised as a gigantic fire extinguisher. Rising from the deep playa, Lookout! asks participants to reexamine their role as environmental stewards and to reflect on fire, landscape, and the smoldering state of our world(s) ablaze.

By: Frances Schwiep & Pablo Gonzalez
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico

An interactive sculpture that lets you experience how the energy of love and human consciousness are deeply intertwined with nature through one of the world’s most environmentally important and diverse ecosystems — the mangrove forest. The tree’s roots come to life, illuminated by hidden LEDs that trace the textures and forms of the roots, branches, and leaves. A 20-minute sound composition is synchronized with the light, unfolding as a subtle, harmonious narrative within the sculpture. At the center, two human forms, intertwined with the roots, symbolize the inseparable bond between humanity and nature.

By: Leeroy New, Luca Parolari, and Sherif Koyes
Hometown: New York, NY and Manila, Philippines

Mebuyan Pulse is a floating constellation of spheres—part sanctuary, part beacon—hovering above the playa with pathways that thread through its clustered forms. A luminous ground sphere anchors the work at night, releasing patterned light and a slow “pulse” of sound and spoken word at set times, drawing people into a shared moment before the structure returns to quiet. The piece speaks to themes of migration, belonging, and the vulnerable space in between endings and beginnings. Inspired by the mythological Filipino goddess Mebuyan and by Leeroy New’s Aliens of Manila artistic series, it offers a place to pause, gather, and feel whole.

By: Anil Mantri
Hometown: Sacramento, CA, United States

Mini-infinipus is a stylistic rendition of an octopus – by day it will mimic the surroundings with its mirrors and aluminum frame, and by night will draw participants in with its adaptive and controllable color-changing arms.

By: Vitalii Kusaiko
Hometown: Noginsk, Russia

This statue captures the tension between Western trinity and Eastern duality. Three arms represent facets of human striving: will (weapon), understanding (knowledge), and exploration (lantern). These are expressions of the self shaping reality through action, thought, and intuition. Yet the two legs ground the figure in duality — yin and yang, light and shadow, life and death. The insect-like form hints at a post-human archetype, a being not choosing between opposites but holding them both at once. It invites reflection on the paradox of unity through contradiction.

By: Oleksandr Hanskyi
Hometown: Jersey City, NJ

This sculpture captures the eternal bond between mother and child, celebrating the strength, tenderness, and unwavering support of motherhood. It stands as a monument to the foundational role of care in our society. Everything begins inside.

By: Hotpot and Blep
Hometown: Seattle, WA, United States

Immerse yourself in a world of colorful boomwhackers (tubes that make a sound when struck!). Wander through the maze of boomwhackers to discover what sounds you can make or songs you can play. Bring a friend or play alone. Grab a mallet or, the artists have found that using your head as a mallet is sometimes superior. Grab a prompt card for some inspiration and see if you can play the hidden song — it’s a Burning Man favorite.

By: Weldboy and Anne-Bonny
Hometown: Gerlach, NV, United States

Nang Du: The Nanganing (a trailer trash epic) suspends six vintage camper trailers from a towering mast, counterbalanced by an opulent chandelier made of welded junk cars. Each trailer opens to reveal illuminated dioramas of burner folklore, desert conspiracies, and other half-truth playa stories. Built almost entirely from reclaimed materials sourced from Burning Man and Gerlach waste streams, the sculpture considers second chances and the strange beauty that emerges when discarded things, objects, stories, and sometimes people can still be transformed into something unexpectedly beautiful.

By: Burnin’Dave King
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

Napahe Tunade is Paiute for Six Fires, which line the 6:00 keyhole and compliment El Diabla, the ritual fire of Burning Man, and the fire garden and Fire Conclave Convergence. Come and dance with the fire, perhaps roast a marshmallow or be mesmerized by the dancing flames or feel the calm from the flaming zen garden.

By: FRAGON
Hometown: Ningbo, China

The purpose of this work is to showcase the beauty of coexistence between humans and nature, presenting the most authentic human form in the form of nudity, and conveying the most primitive beauty on this planet.

By: Darolyn Striley
Hometown: Sacramento, CA, Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA

A large sculptural installation spelling the word “NO” in bold block letters filled with pastel faux flowers. The soft, abundant blooms contrast with the firmness of the word, creating a visual tension between beauty and refusal. The piece reflects the common experience of women softening boundaries in order to remain safe or socially acceptable. By pairing delicate floral imagery with an unmistakable statement of refusal, the installation reveals how gentleness and strength coexist. The work makes visible the emotional labor of softening truth and transforms a familiar survival habit into a visible, luminous form that acknowledges both the grace and the cost of learning to say no.

By: Dank Trilliams
Hometown: Austin, NV, United States

Requiem for a joke…Deep thinkers go to deep playa…to think deep! ABSOLUTELY NO JOKES ALLOWED!!! RIP Steve.

By: GB group
Hometown: Sunnyvale, CA, United States

No Race is an inverted three-tier podium constructed from reclaimed wooden pallets, installed directly on the open playa. The familiar structure of first-, second-, and third-place is flipped upside down, collapsing its hierarchy. The widest platform rests above a compressed base, creating a visually destabilized form. “NO RACE” appears in bold, hand-painted lettering across the front. The piece transforms a symbol of competition into a reflection on shared ground, questioning systems of ranking, speed, and social division.

By: Josh Cohen – PDA
Hometown: Roxbury, NY, United States

Welcome to the realm of the Notorious BSW… part sculpture, part mirage, part sacred joke that somehow became legend. Rising from the dust, these monumental spinning forms offer something rare out on the playa… a place to pause, stare, drift, and lose yourself in something larger than explanation. In a city built on spectacle, rumor, mischief and absurdity, they stand apart… mesmerizing in motion, majestic in scale, and charged with the kind of presence that makes people go quiet before inventing their own mythology. Are they meditative? Definitely. Are they magical? Feels that way. Are they notorious? You must be new here. Nobody fully agrees on what they are… but certainty was never the point. Patience is a virtue PDA

By: Chuck Sommerville
Hometown: Folsom, CA, United States

Nova is a stellated dodecahedron slowly spinning on a wood platform. It was named after the exploding star. As the star throws off its matter, this art piece represents ideas generated during the creative process. Some will be lost to the ether but others coalesce into reality.

By: LaynaJoy Rivas with Big Art Collective
Hometown: Northern California & Springfield, IL

Octopolis is a mother octopus. She is a celebration of life! As she guards her festoons, she invites you to see art in different dimensions: as a striking visual experience, as a metaphor for resilience & renewal, and as a tangible force that continues to shape the world long after the festival lights fade. Initially showcased as interactive art in the desert, she will later transition into an underwater sanctuary, fostering coral growth and sheltering marine life displaced by habitat destruction. She is a reminder that creativity can ripple outward- shifting perspectives, inspiring care, and restoring the delicate balance of our shared environment. Art with a mission, leaving a legacy of beauty, imagination, and ecological care!

By: Jessy Cusack
Hometown: Blackstone, MA, United States

On High brings a mountaintop to the playa. A pulpit for the people. It provides an elevated place for expression open to everyone, something usually reserved for the few. Both a beautiful object and a blank canvas, it is a place for curious souls to unleash their hearts and minds, and to witness it all unfold. And to do it now, before it burns!

By: Jorge E. Martinez
Hometown: El Paso, TX, United States

A sculptural installation emerges in the desert as a contemplative space exploring transformation, presence, and the passage of time. Abstracted human forms and layered surfaces create a visual language of vulnerability and resilience. The work reflects the emotional landscapes of solitude, reflection, and connection, echoing the idea of memento mori and the impermanence of life. Light, shadow, and texture shift throughout the day, revealing subtle details and changing perspectives. The installation symbolizes the human journey through uncertainty, memory, and renewal, transforming the desert landscape into a quiet moment of introspection and shared humanity.

By: Glass House Arts
Hometown: Escondido, CA, United States

A pop-up book, made of steel. A celebration of humans still finding new ways to bend and fold. In Babel, humans built so high that we threatened the divine. We were scattered into languages they couldn’t share. We built the tower again. AI is made from everything we’ve said, every image, every sound. The universal translator, finally. In the absences of gods, we smite ourselves.

By: Joe Di Marco & Hannah Yata
Hometown: Wassaic, NY & Lords Valley, PA

Pandora’s Eye is a temple of creation myth and the paradoxical nature of pandora’s box. The temple is a decagon reciprocal timber frame and spiral oculus with traditional joinery. The walls are 200 year old salvaged rosewood panels from a buddhist temple in Thailand, repurposed with new life. Monumental original paintings line the walls, vivid depictions of creation mythologies, sacred animals, and lush natural forms. The work explores the divine feminine, the freedom of nature and the body, and the alchemical dance between spirit and matter. The Eye is the moment of emergence and awareness when the universe begins to see itself. It is also a call to change our attitude towards nature, the planet, and our bodies.

By: Charlie the French
Hometown: Saint Denis, France

A metallic tree rises from the desert, its tubular branches tracing perfect parabolic curves toward the heavens—each arc a mathematical prayer, each junction a meeting point between earth and cosmos. At its base, an immense mirror parabola spreads across the ground like a liquid portal, reflecting sky, stars, and every soul that approaches. Burners will adorn it with light reflectors, forming a canopy of light, reflections merging between branches and roots, dissolving the illusion of separation to better reveal a communication between earth and sky. By day, the mirrored surface captures clouds and sun; by night, it holds constellations and firelight.

By: Dennis Leon
Hometown: Portland, OR, United States

Party in a Box is a large-scale interactive structure where participants can choose their own [party] adventure. There are designated areas of the structure for participants to add onto or otherwise modify the piece, making it a constantly evolving work in progress. Just like you.

By: Mr and Mrs Ferguson
Hometown: Alameda, CA, United States

An exalted, shining, copper goose that seen from distance will draw observers to discover that this goose’s feathers are made up from layered penny coins from Canada and the United States. This is the return of a much loved art installation from 2015 that is completely rebuilt with the concrete skin method we use with our penny bears. The penny feather pattern will give tribute to the better relationship Canada and the United States have long known. This is a return of a much loved art installation from 2015 but completely rebuilt with concrete as we have had with our penny bears. The feather pattern will be unique and give tribute to what is the true and kind relationship that Canada and the United States have long known.

By: David Oliver
Hometown: Ventura, CA & Gualala, CA

Petaled Portal is Portal now petaled. Possible of transformation to that which is here, brought to life through… C.R.E.A.T.I.V.I.T.Y. Capturing Reality Endlessly And Timelessly- Idealized Vitally Into Techniques Yieldable

By: Runester
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

Imagine a park-like oasis on the playa, where small art finds a home and sculptures spring up as if by magic. Lamp posts glow, park benches invite you to linger, bike racks stand ready, and pockets of shade offer respite. Around you, about 25 art pieces, each no larger than 10 feet in any direction, create a spontaneous outdoor gallery. The Playa Art Park welcomes everyone—reserve your spot ahead of time or be placed as a Walk-In art project.

By: Paula Aranda
Hometown: Whitefish, MT, United States

Playa Penguins is built on the idea that wonder is a radical act. Penguins don’t belong in the desert, yet here they stand—glowing, serene, and impossible. Penguins survive through unity; they huddle, rotate, and protect one another. In the harsh environment of the playa, this becomes a quiet metaphor for community and interdependence. Penguins are a reminder that even in challenging environments, we can create light, connection, and magic together.

By: Juan
Hometown: Bocas del Toro, Panama

Something on the horizon is hard to describe, now it’s closer and it looks pointy. They wonder if there are treasures to be found, only the brave will find out. While doing things for no reason, time has passed and suddenly it is not hard to describe. They find themselves talking with new friends, protected by the shade of a star-shaped shade with a 16 ft. tall pole/disco ball beacon. Taking in the moment becomes easy. Perhaps treasure still awaits, perhaps they had it all along.

By: Eric Jackson
Hometown: San Diego, CA, United States

The Portal of Love is a geometric mirrored altar formed by intersecting angular frames. Suspended crystal strands catch and scatter light, creating shifting reflections that change throughout the day and glow at night. The mirrored surfaces fragment and multiply the surrounding environment, producing a dynamic field of reflected light. The installation explores love as light. Reflections blend and refract, suggesting how individual identities remain distinct while creating something shared and luminous. The piece presents connection as an expanding exchange of energy rather than a fixed form.

By: Misfit Toys, Lead Artist: Joe Howard
Hometown: San Francisco, CA & Bolinas, CA

Prelude to Winter Solstice is the first series of pieces of the larger Winter Solstice Give or Take a Week project the Misfit Toys plans to bring in 2027. A scene on a ‘frozen lake’ featuring three 50’s/60’s/70’s era ice fishing shanties, each curated by a different team of artists, surrounded by an old wooden dock, vintage winter sports gear and other ephemera, and a shoreline edge bounded by aged wooden posts with hand painted signs warning of ‘thin ice’, subtle puzzles and other easter eggs to discover.

By: Squid + wakenmake.shop
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

Primitive Obsession is a 20×20×22-foot cubic scaffolding structure containing 160 suspended LED curtains that form a walk-through volumetric light field. Within the grid, archetypal geometries emerge and dissolve: expanding spheres, fractal canopies, ascending rings, winding double helices, and shimmering constellations. Light becomes architectural, surrounding the body with shifting columns and planes of color. By transforming simple natural geometries into spatial illumination, the work explores humanity’s enduring attraction to elemental forms. The installation functions as both a sculptural light environment and an interactive instrument for new media artworks and audiovisual performance.

By: Bright Red
Hometown: Wadsworth, NV, United States

Who is programming who between you and your device? Content contains conditioning and the sculpture programming shows glimpses of the subliminal behind the screen.

By: Tyler FuQua Creations
Hometown: Oregon City, OR, United States

Behold Project O.C.T.O.P.U.S.! This mechanical beast is ready and waiting to come to life, all at the turn of a crank (well, 9 cranks actually.) Created by the 9x Honorarium artists at Tyler FuQua Creations (Oregon City, OR), this is by far their most interactive and complex Playa creation to date. Inspired by the amazing works of friends Duane Flatmo and Barry Crawford, Project O.C.T.O.P.U.S. will be a finely tuned & highly detailed work of art featuring 65 points of articulation and a personality that will be sure to delight even the most grumbly DPW worker! Find out more at http://www.tylerfuquacreations.com/project-o.c.t.o.p.u.s..html

By: Lindsay and Kevin Brown
Hometown: Seattle, WA, United States

What is it? What’s in this? You’ll only find out if you pull slowly and see!

By: Manuela Magni & Mau Guerrero
Hometown: Milan, Italy, Mexico-City, Mexico

A monumental, semi-glossy heart, slightly tilted, is split by a jagged crack from base to top. By day, its mirrored surface reflects the sky and people. By night, the crack glows like magma, bathing visitors in red light. A vertical light rises from the top, pulsing like a lightning signal. Touch-sensitive sensors sync the light to a visitor’s heartbeat or nearby music. The work transforms a single heart into a shared organ, where strangers synchronize pulse and presence. The project is a portrait of resilience: fractures that once felt like endings become stitched with light. Breakage is reframed not as failure, but as a channel for light and connection. Fractures become doorways. Repair is participatory.

By: Paige Tashner
Hometown: Portland, OR & Richmond, CA

The Purrmaid is a half cat / half mermaid interactive sculpture. She appears to float in a magical kelp forest while she plays the ukulele to her mythical sea creature friends. She tells the story of how important her world is to our real-life climate survival through messages dotted throughout the installation.

By: Sophi Kravitz and Ollie Tanner
Hometown: Kingston, NY, United States

QUEEN is a sculpture of a reclining woman in midlife. A pinwheel emerges from her head, its blades carrying phrases: I am 50+, I’m in my Power, I am Invisible, I give no Effs, I am Wise, I am Aging, Freedom from the Gaze, I am Becoming, I am You. QUEEN confronts the cultural erasure of aging women, rendered invisible right when they become most powerful. The sculpture’s name transforms it all into power: Quantum Universal Epic Era Now!

By: Jon Sarriugarte, The Empire of Dirt
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

Several monumental sculptures inspired by the microscopic skeletons of radiolarian plankton — ancient organisms whose geometric beauty underpins ocean life. Handcrafted from wrought iron, sheet metal, and fiberglass resin, each form transmits light: internal LEDs pulse, shimmer, and breathe after dark. A layered soundscape weaves together ancient oceanic ambiance, present-day marine recordings, and speculative sounds from distant worlds. The result is a fully immersive environment — a meditation on time, evolution, and the shared origins of life — inviting awe and curiosity about our place in the universe.

By: Resilience Art Collective
Hometown: Berkeley, CA, United States

Resilience is a larger-than-life fire art sculpture of a Water Bear, otherwise known as a Tardigrade, our amazing microscopic cousin often hailed as the most resilient organism yet discovered. Resilience the sculpture calls us to contribute our energy and to ponder our interconnectedness as we strive for Radical Resilience as a community. This 10 foot tall interactive metallic fire shooting sculpture, simultaneously ugly, cute, and powerful, awaits our participatin to bring the Tardigrade to life.

By: Enginears Collective
Hometown: London, UK, & Albuquerque, NM

Right Ear Right Now invites burners to embark on a Q Tip guided spiritual quest, be vulnerable and open their inner worlds to the ear. The Q Tip channels participant’s negative energies into the ear relieving them of their f-ears through the act of cleaning the ear.

By: Dany deLaveaga
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

A three-dimensional sculptural tower composed of weathered steel pillars of varying heights arranged in a stepped, organic formation. The central pillar rises 30 feet above the playa and features an attractively illuminated object visible only from the top, creating an irresistible draw upward.

By: Blue Unicorn Collective
Hometown: Miami, FL & Los Angeles, CA

Have you ever had three days straight of rain (2025 maybe?) It’s a bit blah. Have you had three days of straight sun? It’s energizing beyond belief. This piece is a show of gratitude for those that light up our lives whether it’s the sun or other human beings. The sun is also the center of our solar system and in keeping with the theme of 2026 (Axis Mundi) this will honor that. And at night our sun will still shine bright for all those that need it.

By: Star Buds
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

A mysterious celestial object. A 17-foot-tall lotus bud just about to bloom. Constructed from horizontally stacked, CNC-cut wood, its exterior is heavily charred from its journey through space. This scorched shell mirrors the protective layers people carry, while the inner sanctuary remains soft and tender. Inside, fourteen massive ribs rise to a central skylight. At night, LEDs push light through precise gaps in the wood, making the structure visually breathe. Serving as a monument to stillness in an overstimulated world, the space responds to its environment. When absolute silence is sustained, a glowing galaxy reveals itself. If the quiet breaks, the stars fade.

By: Katelyn Morris
Hometown: South Lake Tahoe, CA, United States

Saturn’s House pays homage to a core human rite of passage: the Saturn Return. This piece provides counter-lore to dialogues about Saturn Returns being gnarly and harsh — offering an uplifting, sacred, and creative reprieve that honors the 6, the cube, and the world-building energy of Saturn. Cube is the shape of Earth, the shape of time, the shape of structure, the shape of Self. Cubes of Saturn reside in cities all over the world to pay respect to the God of Time. In Black Rock City — a city built in the likeness of a clock — this sculpture uplifts the architectural power of Saturn to create realities that support life, ingenuity, creativity, and power.

By: peter markel
Hometown: Santa Cruz, CA, United States

A school of over 450 green transparent fish contructed of recycled 2 liter soda bottles swimming in three 15 foot repurposed trampoline hoops. Individual movements build a constantly changing whole, illustrating the importance as us individually as we strengthen our community.

By: Dave Ray & Michael Jacob from Lux Productions
Hometown: Joshua Tree, CA and Sebastopol, CA

Septima is a 28 foot diameter structural free standing sphere, comprised of the vertical intersection of four 7 pointed septogram or heptagram stars, constructed of large engineered timbers A solid structural platform at nine feet above the playa will provide space to congregate and explore the structure from within. The perimeter face of each timber will be channeled for programmable LED’s that will illuminate the sculpture at night. From the sacred to the profane the number 7 has woven itself into the DNA of our species, imbedded in our theology, spirituality, numerology & metaphysical realms: 7 days of creation 7 Chakras 7 planets The number 7 is integral to Muslim and Jewish mysticism. 7 pitches in the heptatonic scale the 7 deadly sins

By: Karen Dayan “Sunshine”
Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, United States

The Serendipity Machine stands as a whimsical, steampunk-inspired installation, evoking the charm of an old-fashioned invention designed to transform the unexpected into positive outcomes. The structure stands as a gentle provocation for human connection, offering a moment of pause amid the chaos of the playa. Each interaction is designed to evoke reflection, emotional honesty, and spontaneous encounters between strangers. Blending analog charm with emotional depth, the piece transforms fleeting moments into meaningful ones, making space for surprise, story, and shared humanity.

By: Caleb Nederhood & The Seven Sisters Crew
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

For millennia, cultures around the world have told strikingly similar stories about a small group of stars in the night sky being seven sisters. Whether known as Pleaides, Subaru, Karatgurk, Dilγéhé, Makali’i, or countless other names, this constellation has held deep spiritual and mythological significance for peoples around the world, with some centering their calendar around its rising. The Seven Sisters is a three-dimensional model of this star cluster, allowing participants to see a familiar constellation from new perspectives and learn about the convergent myths told about it.

By: James A Brown
Hometown: North Bethesda, MD, United States

A large, immersive installation honoring ancient shadow puppetry and theatre. Twenty‑four aluminum arches—each 100 feet long and rising 15 feet at the apex—symbolize the hours of the day and form an expanding circular layout. Three‑foot canvas bands stretch over the arcs, creating shifting shadow patterns across a 175‑by‑175‑foot footprint. The open structure allows wind and visitors to flow through freely inviting self-expression. At night, backlit shadow panels and vibrant lighting transform the space into a dynamic arena for performances, including fire spinning, “Shadow Play” and music.

By: Heather Laurie & the Full of Tricks crew
Hometown: Bend, OR, United States

Shoe Tree is an interactive exploration of urban legend and rumor, inviting spontaneous and unsanctioned participation in deep reverence for guerrilla and folk art traditions. Salvaged materials and a roadside vibe let the passerby decide if Shoe Tree exists as a symbolic display or an unsightly eyesore.

By: Jammy Shred
Hometown: Seattle, WA, United States

Take shelter and reflection as we evolve into the future. Shred hard and prosper.

By: Dragnet – denny smith
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, CA, United States

SK8Z! Once again Dragnet brings a group of artists’ work to the deepest playa…40 skateboard decks will be placed on 40 T-stakes on the trash fence, each uniquely decorated and representing one of the themes and years of the 40th anniversary of Burning Man. Recycled, thrift stores, garage sales, found objects are used for the subject matter…you may remember the tennis rackets, tikis or fish, just some of past art on the fence…this year will be the best, so please get out to the deepest point of the playa…BlinkingManCamp97 continues to bring it! A place where Excesssss just never seems to be enough…as we have said since our first year in the BlueLightDistrict: While the others are thinking, we’ll be blinking.

By: Tremendous Machine Farm
Hometown: Salem, WI, United States

By day, Spectral Scarab glimmers in the desert sun like a sacred artifact emerging from the Playa. At sunset, hidden light begins to awaken—warm ambers fading into deep violet as the sky descends into night. After dark, projection imagery blooms across its wings: celestial constellations, underworld tones, and radiant sunrise hues. Inspired by Khepri, the Egyptian scarab who carried the sun across the sky, the work echoes the Playa’s daily ritual of dawn and dusk. Spectral Scarab becomes a modern Axis Mundi—a luminous threshold where light, shadow, memory, and rebirth converge. @tremendousmachinefarm

By: Craig Weltha
Hometown: Ames, Iowa & New York, New York

Experience speed without distance through revolutionary angular momentum. At the center of the merry-go-round, stand straight and tall and feel your shifting weight translate into revolutionary motion. Become the axis and have a look around! Eyes on the horizon, and remember to BREATHE!

By: Mark Harris & The Tinkers Knot
Hometown: St George, UT, United States

STOP and Reflect is a giant traffic signal in deep playa. It is best viewed at night when it is brightly lit against the inky black darkness of the playa. Burning Man can be a frenzied experience…When the light is RED Burners are encouraged to STOP wherever they are, appreciate the art that surrounds them, take a moment to soak in the experience, form a lifetime memory, and move on again when green.

By: Andrew Frank, Nyro, Josh Hess
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

Stormborn: The Tyrant of Lightning is an electrifying fusion of prehistoric power and elemental energy—a life-sized sculpture of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, composed entirely of sculpted lightning. This installation envisions the raw force of nature, where ancient life meets the untamed fury of the storm. The skeletal form is not forged from bone but is instead realized through the dynamic, branching patterns of lightning itself, captured in glowing arcs of energy.

By: Woj in collaboration with Glass House Arts
Hometown: Escondido, CA, United States

It’s an ordinary streetlight.

By: Phoebe Leung
Hometown: Hong Kong, HKSAR and San Francisco, CA

sunny side up is an interactive and immersive architectural art and light installation that mirrors the horizon where the sun meets the sea, capturing the ephemeral beauty of sunrise and sunset. It reflects on impermanence and the quiet presence of hope, grounded in the natural rhythm that every sunset is followed by another sunrise.

By: The Armadillos
Hometown: Gresham, OR, United States

The sentinels stand in a line, waiting to greet the new day’s sun. They keep our citizens safe, and warn all who would enter.

By: Chicken
Hometown: Truckee, CA, United States

Giant Tea Bag

By: Moonlight Collective and the Temple Build Crew, Lead Artist James Gwertzman
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

The Temple of the Moon is inspired by the Queen of the Night flower, a fragrant desert cactus blossom (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) which blooms only once each year, at night, and whose flowers wilt before dawn. In this act of ephemeral beauty, we find a profound metaphor for our own brief beautiful lives on this planet, as well as for Burning Man itself, which blossoms each year in the dust of the playa, and then disappears without a trace. We believe that this act of impermanence demands presence. The flower blooms for only a few hours. If you blink, you will miss it. The only possible response is to slow down, to be as present as possible, and to witness.

By: Maurice Cavness
Hometown: Eureka, CA, United States

This sculpture represents our common ancestors from the motherland, who watch over and unite us. There will be five ancestors, each 10 feet tall, standing in a circle of energy. The space is a place of protection and spirituality. It is meant to unify us and make us feel safe in communing with our ancestors. While standing inside the circle, people can pull ancestral knowledge and wisdom from the Earth.

By: Raymond Mroczkowski
Hometown: Topanga Cannon, CA, United States

A colorful large open stage area with a central covered pool with a deposit area is visible. There is a hanging face-type art sculpture on poles. There are shaded elemental-looking art seats and interactive elements surrounding the center area. The vibe is to rest and reflect. The center area has a water feature for some sounds to be heard.

By: Quill Hyde
Hometown: Tonasket, WA, United States

The Council of Animals (What to do about the Humans) is a piece that explores our relationship with the other members of our animal family, and encourages us to think about what our relations might say to us, if they spoke in words we could understand. The goal of the piece, really, is to shift our perspectives, help us build a better word-castle to live in, that includes the rest of our family. We have the power to change the future. We’ve been in a rush for so long, as a sub-species, racing towards uncertain futures during troubled times. It’s time to pause, stop, think about what we’re doing, have realistic discussions about our choices, our plans, and our collective futures. As one life, on one planet, with nowhere else to go.

By: Gravity Assist Studio
Hometown: Austin, TX, United States

The Divine Hand hovers above the playa, suspended between sky and dust. It is for seekers who understand they may not receive what they want, but instead what they need. Some pass without noticing. Others pause and feel something shift, through a quiet, personal gift.

By: Jarett Evan Cole
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV

The Eagle of Entitlement stands as a proud and commanding monument housing the Museum of Entitlement, a definitive presentation tracing the history of entitlement as both tradition and trait with the depth, rigor, and continuity it warrants. This glowing emblem connects big names, fun facts, lesser-known moments, and evolving stylistic trends—from broad cultural patterns to those emerging within Black Rock City itself—assembled into a cohesive and authoritative record. Presented with institutional gravity and confidence, the installation frames entitlement as an enduring force shaped across eras by spectacle, access, and chance, and asserts its place within the documented record of human experience.

By: The Flaming Carousel Crew
Hometown: Atlanta, GA & Portland, OR

The essence of youth and nostalgia of past carousels draws people back to the fun and familiar. Participants ride around on different types of creatures from the imaginations of different artists with rolling flames above the participants’ heads, bringing joy to those who ride and those who watch. The Flaming Carousel is a reworking of the classic carousel and revives the building of creatures with new materials from the imaginations of different artists from around the world. It is both a sculpture and a platform for other artists to explore the medium.

By: Brendon O’Halloran and the O’Tools
Hometown: Topanga, CA & Reno, NV

This is the Temple of the builders. A typical garage full of all the things you’d expect. Tools, storage, memories, seasonal things, equipment, etc. We hang out here and talk, drink, fix, build, jam out, play games, create and tinker. The Garage is the home of the laborers and builders who go unseen but make things happen. The hidden heroes.

By: Asher Amar
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA, United States

A monumental illuminated sculpture spanning approximately 120 feet in length and 27 feet in height across the open playa. The installation spells the Hebrew phrase “ואהבת לרעך כמוך” — “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Constructed from steel and elevated on slender supports, the letters appear to float above the desert horizon. By day the structure reflects sunlight with a shimmering golden presence; by night integrated lighting transforms the words into a radiant beacon, expressing a timeless principle of empathy, reciprocity, and shared humanity.

By: Alex Noerpel & Hunter Keene
Hometown: New York, NY, United States

A monumental open-air cathedral rises from the playa as a skeletal framework of towers, arches, and luminous panels. The structure evokes both a gothic ruin and a futuristic folly, blending sacred architecture with raw industrial materials. By day, sunlight passes through colorful translucent panels that resemble stained glass, casting shifting color across the desert floor. By night, integrated lighting transforms the framework into a radiant beacon of light and geometry visible across the playa. The installation represents a temporary cathedral for Black Rock City: a place where monumental architecture, light, and the desert landscape combine to create a shared space for collective presence and interactivity.

By: Trash Fence Art Collective
Hometown: Oakland, CA, United States

The sun and the moon form a foundation for all life in our solar system. If you are patient you will be rewarded by harnessing the light of the morning and evening sun. If you linger, the moon’s reflection will be in your hands and if you pay attention, it will remind us of the land we walk on.

By: RFLloyd
Hometown: Modesto, CA, United States

The Love Nest features a large wooden pelican carrying a nest on its back, filled with soft cushions. The installation is designed to inspire connection, community, reflection, and a sense of safety. As people gather within the nest to rest, breathe, and release, it becomes a living heartbeat of togetherness, a cradle for laughter, tears, silence, and song. Within this space, the nest offers a sanctuary for wanderers, dreamers, and the winged spirit within us all. The piece draws inspiration from a sacred space once shared amongst friends. In that place, they felt as though they sat inside a nest and were held, safe and free to speak their deepest truths. The experience left them bound together by love and wanting to share with others.

By: Dan Miller
Hometown: Willits, CA, United States

The Man has had a Brain each year since 2018. It is made during the Man build using wood scraps from its ribs. It is designed to be placed in the Man’s head, though instead, it travels the playa on a bike trailer to fill up with thoughts written on paper by participants. The Philosophical Center Potluck Noodle House and Lemonade Stand gazebo, on the playa, is its Home Base. The Brain burns with the Man each year. The big idea behind this project is to create an opportunity to make the Man touchable and Participatory. It is encouraged to share your thought with others around to give the moment an extra dose of psycho-magic.

By: Kim Carson
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

The Portal of Collective Imagination is a 20-foot circular arch constructed from recycled aluminum, bamboo, and mycelium-based panels. By day, it appears as a luminous geometric halo rising from the playa — open, inviting, and quietly monumental. By night, it becomes a responsive environment: light ripples across the structure, projections bloom within its interior, and subtle soundscapes shift with human presence.

By: Ali Argus Ardie and Nina B. Paul, PhD
Hometown: Deeth, NV and San Francisco, CA

Your heart is racing, your head is spinning. The Race of Hearts presents a physical interpretation of falling in love and the swirl of emotions it brings. Part steampunk automaton, part 1930s amusement ride, this heart-themed merry-go-round was conceived from Playa love and as a love letter to the Playa. BRC citizens ride the spinning sculpture on heart-shaped bicycle seats and arms engraved with emotion words. At its center, an armored heart opens to reveal two cartoon-style hearts dancing together. The armored shell symbolizes self-protection, while the dancing hearts represent acceptance, trust, and safety. On solar panels heart frames, BRC citizens write their Playa love names. The entire structure resembles an ace of hearts from above.

By: Foster’s Cosmic Creations LLC / Adam Foster
Hometown: Rochester, NY, United States

If art is how you decorate space, and music is how you decorate time, The Royal Trumpets do both. Dancing in SpaceTime, The Royal Trumpets create beautiful displays of sonic explosions-literally. 2 handmade pipe organ pipes on each of the six trumpets create the 12 notes of the chromatic scale. In the day you can find them making sound with compressed air, but come nightfall things get SPICY!

By: The Serpent Servants
Hometown: Dallas, TX & New Orleans, LA

Rising from the playa, The Serpent forms a living Axis Mundi—a luminous bridge between earth, sky, and the unseen worlds between. At its core, a radiant spine of light pulses and breathes in response to the presence of participants, revealing that the energy of the city itself animates the work. Ascending toward the heavens while rooted in the dust, the Serpent embodies humanity’s endless cycle of transformation—an eternal journey of becoming, where descent, ascent, and rebirth weave the story of our shared existence.

By: Jared Ficklin aka Pearlsnaps
Hometown: Austin, TX, United States

The Solar Library is a rhythmic repetition of triangular yellow huts with bright, sun-orange doors. The steel-framed huts present solar panels at an ideal angle to the sun. At night, they bathe in soft yellow light reminiscent of the sunlight collected all day. Artists apply for a library card so they can build battery-powered art, knowing they have dedicated solar charging capacity reserved to charge their batteries. The mission is to remove the noise and fumes of generators from playa art without the proliferation of panel farms.

By: Adrian Landon
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

The Sound of Time will be a large mechanical clocktower that will tell several different time scales, with gears of various sizes turning at various speeds. The moving mechanics will also be playing sounds, notes, bells, keys, gongs and more.

By: Michaël FENEUX
Hometown: Egletons and Betchat, France

Confronted with the excesses of our contemporary lifestyle, the Tear of Midas serves as both an ecological warning and a symbolic call for collective awareness. Crafted from wood, this “tear” represents a drop of oxygen—decarbonizing the future while reawakening our imagination. It invites us to reflect on new ways of living and designing, through architecture that harmonizes with and draws inspiration from the natural world.

By: In Theory Art Collective
Hometown: Huntsville, UT, United States

“the weight of light” is a frozen moment of celestial reckoning transformed into an arc between the shadows of how we power our world and the brilliance of how we might transform it. Emerging from the dust, a monumental lightning bolt commands the power of electricity. By day, the structure is a prismatic crystal. Its facets, crafted from upcycled dichroic panels, fracture light into a spectrum of iridescence. By night, participants can charge the bolt to create a massive, vertical lightning strike and boom of thunder. Surrounding this central pillar are 8 lightning shards that form a 50-foot sacred circle. Each enshrines an interactive world that illuminates the “weight of light” — the nature of fossil-fuel based electricity production, its environmental impact, and our power to transform it.

By: Rockford Revelry
Hometown: Rockford, IL, United States

The Wishing Tree is a glowing sculpture whose branches bloom with suspended lanterns that sway gently in the wind. By day the tree appears like a desert mirage; by night, participants make wishes to activate softly pulsing lights that travel through the illuminated trunk and canopy. As lanterns fill with light, the tree becomes a constellation of collective hopes; an Axis Mundi where personal intentions rise skyward, transforming the sculpture into a radiant beacon for reflection, healing, and shared possibility.

By: Titanic’s End
Hometown: San Francisco, CA, United States

TITANIC is a wooden ship, split in half, sinking into the playa. Dynamic, interactive lighting will illuminate the vessel at night, while flame effects will blast from the top two twin smoke stacks. A climbable, amphitheater-forming sculpture for citizens of BRC to watch a performance or a sunset from, TITANIC represents the hubris of man and his faith in technology. As we continue to extract resources from the world at ever greater scale, will we find a sustainable equilibrium with the planet? Or will it end in tragedy? We are running the experiment live.

By: Alvise and the Hippo Love Art Society
Hometown: Calgary, Canada

The installation presents a totemic stack of animals drawn from symbolic traditions across cultures. A tortoise supports a globe, with a deer, an owl, and butterflies rising above. Inspired by stories of the world carried on a turtle, the work reflects on humanity’s relationship with the Earth. Each animal embodies a quality: the deer, gentleness, the owl, wisdom, and the butterfly, transformation. Constructed using reclaimed and repurposed materials, the piece reflects on consumption, sustainability, and the possibility of renewal, offering a quiet meditation on the balance between human activity and the living world.

By: Trash Fence Souvenirs Collective
Hometown: Little Silver, NJ

Trash Fence Souvenirs is the only unofficial inauthentic vendor of the Black Rock Festival. TFS is a playful, satirical installation that offers inauthentic memorabilia. The offerings are intentionally humorous with a variety of tongue-in-cheek items such as: Burn Ur Own Man kit, Dust Keepers, Pony Parts, and Playa Trading Cards. Playa Trading Cards is our version of a fun educational way to highlight individuals, artists and artist groups, theme camps, mutant vehicles, etc. that contribute to the wonderful world of BRC.

By: Artur Grycuk
Hometown: Białystok, Poland

Tree of Photon aims to express the harmonious fusion of technology and nature, where photons symbolize the invisible energies that connect all life. It delves into the quantum poetry of light, where photons represent both scientific precision and metaphorical enlightenment. It seeks to bridge the gap between human touch and technological response, suggesting that, in an era of digital isolation, physical interaction can reignite communal bonds. Light-based art can evoke profound emotional responses, fostering a sense of unity in communal settings like Burning Man. It communicates that small actions, like a simple hug, can ripple outward, altering the world around us and highlighting our interconnectedness in an often chaotic universe.

By: Phillip O. Perkins Design
Hometown: Oakland, CA & Railroad Flat, CA

A 24-foot tall trinity of anthropomorphic figures, representing the connections of our bodies to the earth and our aspirational reach to the stars, have illuminated heads, and are designed to hold citizens’ offerings of hopes and wishes. Imagery generated by AI, accompanied by music, will project hopeful future possibilities in how we will co-exist with AI.

By: Karimsa Kat and Kevin
Hometown: Quincy, CA, United States

A freestanding architectural fragment: a standard exterior house door centered within two flat reclaimed-wood walls. The structure faces deep playa on one side and Black Rock City on the other, positioning the doorway between origin and possibility. The door opens to open playa, revealing not a house or destination but the horizon. It explores limbo as a physical space — neither entry nor exit, but a moment suspended between worlds. This installation is a tribute to the unhinged, the fine art of socially acceptable loitering. Freestanding excuse to linger with intent. A place to being everywhere and nowhere all at once. Lean in, take up space, and stay a while.

By: Eric Nielsen
Hometown: Corte Madera, CA, United States

The Unity Locus Focuser pulls in the universe’s energies and focuses them into its spherical Third Eye. Participants walk along either of its catwalks to its Third Eye, then immerse their heads within it, experiencing the energy and views from within it together. Unity within the Third Eye is manifested through sounds, lighting, warmth, inspiring views, and the other participant’s close proximity. The two sides of the installation are diversely different, similar to the opposing opinions of a polarizing issue, but that straddling between them is a unifying truth that helps to see things from a more holistic perspective.

By: Evidence, Stephan Moore and Scott Smallwood
Hometown: Chicago, IL & Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UNPOP, or Unpopular Music, is an intimate listening environment in deepest playa. It features exquisite, detailed sound-works, including field recordings, abstract electroacoustic music, ambient textures, and other (mostly) non-beat-oriented sonic experiences, composed by many artists from around the world. Encompassing a circular space, the piece is built around eight custom-built Hemisphere loudspeakers, which enclose a listening area complete with comfortable seating.

By: Nikki McGiggles McGee
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT, United States

Up Nort Art Shanty is a weathered ice fishing shack improbably perched on the desert lakebed where ancient Lake Lahontan once stretched for miles. Raised above the dust like a relic from another shoreline, it feels like a refuge for the weary burner wandering deep playa. Inside, a simulated ice fishing scene unfolds among fishing gear, odd memorabilia, and quietly unfolding stories of native cutthroat trout and prehistoric waters. Equal parts nostalgia, humor, and ecological storytelling, the shanty blends northern fishing culture with the deep history of the Great Basin.

By: Alberto Marcos
Hometown: Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica

Designed to foster joy, playfulness, and communal engagement, we are inviting everyone to experience the thrill of sliding down into a space of shared happiness and connection. The art piece Vessels of Love is a clear expression of the understanding that love is never linear but through love, infinity can be achieved. Art is a catalyst for connection, reflection, and transformation. It challenges us to think, feel, and engage with one another in profound ways, making the desert a vibrant canvas of creativity and community. Showing that although all different, we are connected through our core, that love is a journey and that our inner child is so important to shape the space and communities of the future.

By: Chengqi Zhang
Hometown: Mountain View, CA, United States

Just as you found this water in the dust of Black Rock City, may you also find your own oasis in the deserts of default world.

By: Frank Jerolimov
Hometown: San Jose, CA, United States

We The Sheeple reflects on the volatile state of the electorate; how rhetoric and weaponization of the media sways the masses as easily as the wind blows! Imagine an old world public square aesthetic: two wooden soap boxes equipped with megaphones face off from opposing ends of a field filled with 50 wind-driven sheep on swivels, all illuminated by Edison-style bulbs. Intellectually serious, yet physically whimsical. Very much red, white, and ewe!

By: Miranda Ratner
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA, United States

WeCycle is a large circular mandala constructed from reclaimed materials including aluminum, colorful cardboard packaging, single-use plastics, and textile scraps. These elements are hand-sewn into intricate ornamentation across a patchwork canvas of upcycled fabric, tensioned within a welded metal frame using grommets and cord lacing to form a drum-like surface. Mounted upright, anchored to the ground, and enclosed in a clear vinyl casing, the work shimmers in daylight and emits a soft glow at night through embedded solar LED lights. Drawing from global mandala traditions, it functions as a non-denominational medicine wheel and an altar to transformation, exploring permanence and impermanence and the cyclical nature of ecological renewal.

By: Teresia Knight – Wild Free Spirit
Hometown: Roseville, CA, United States

The Wild Free Art display is once again on the playa and will showcase original artworks. Created to share my vision of spreading love, kindness, and acceptance to everyone. Come and see what speaks to your soul and meet the artist. The universe is calling, come and see what it has to say to you through the art.

By: Victoria Primeau (and Hoyle)
Hometown: London, Ontario, Canada, and USA

Tiny worlds are hidden behind doors within doors. Like accidentally clicking a pop-up ad, behind every door lies a carefully curated surprise, though thankfully none of them will ask you to update Adobe Flash Player.

By: Ofer Levy – Zeta Zone Camp
Hometown: Redmond, WA

The philosophy of The Stump centers on the balance between nature and human creation. How life, even when altered, continues to flow through transformation. It reflects the cycle of decay and renewal: a fallen tree reborn through art, machinery, and water. The merging of living textures with gears and chains symbolizes harmony between organic and industrial worlds. The continuous sound of flowing water represents life’s persistence, while mist and light evoke breath and rebirth. This piece invites reflection on our connection to the environment, reminding us that progress and nature are not opposites, but parts of the same evolving rhythm.

By: Cynthia Mahoney and Terri Esry
Hometown: Sams Valley & Klamath Falls, Oregon

The project is an antique table and chairs with an antique phone made up in the past, with a Frame that welcomes you to words left unsaid, calls to the other side.

By: Morten Ørtenblad
Hometown: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua & Roskilde, Denmark

Yggdrasil rises from the dust as an echo of the ancient Tree of Life from Norse mythology — the living bridge between the spiritual and the physical worlds. Reaching 22 ft into the desert sky and spreading 33 ft in diameter, its circular crown is woven with bamboo mandalas that breathe with wind, light, and human presence. Built from laminated bamboo, Yggdrasil is both myth and experiment — a sustainable pilot exploring how bamboo lives on the playa and how it transforms in fire. At its final moment, the tree returns to flame — completing the cycle between earth, spirit, and ash.

By: Paul Alkoby
Hometown: Raleigh, NC & New York, NY

A helmet that transports participants inside the mind of a veteran turned Burner. Inspired by conversations with veterans and their families on playa, the piece explores invisible wounds, moral injury, fractured homecomings, and the search for post service identity and healing. The work reflects how the Burning Man community’s radical inclusion can help restore creativity, connection, and hope while confronting the broader mental health crisis affecting veterans and society as a whole.

By: Gazelle Dasti
Hometown: Reno, NV, United States

ZARVAN, the ancient Persian deity of time, is a 23-foot interactive sculpture in the form of a monumental human head that explores perception, communication, and collective presence. Visitors can look through internal periscopes aligned with the eyes to experience the surrounding landscape through ZARVAN’s gaze. Integrated speaking tubes within the ears allow people on opposite sides of the sculpture to speak and listen through the structure itself, making the work a vessel for human connection and shared presence. Its luminous crown, inspired by traditional Persian stained glass, responds to human presence with shifting colored light, while the faceted steel body draws from Persian rug geometry and is hand painted with Persian rug motifs, embedding cultural memory into the form. Through sight, sound, and participation, ZARVAN becomes a living, responsive system.