Each night a string of a hundred helium balloons with flashing lights are strung into the air off back of Robot Heart. He’s trying to find Robot Heart, a roving stage that covertly changes location every night,with DJs like Jamie Jones, Art Department and Seth Troxler. We cycle for kilometres, the minutes adding up, trying to reach what’s known as the “trash fence”, which rings the circumference, trapping any rubbish that gets caught in the wind.Ī single light comes towards us, and we ask the fellow Burner how much farther it is. On bikes, lit by the single glare of a headlamp, we weave through art cars, past giant glowing fish, around metallic neon signs and into the darkness. Like early explorers, we strap on a backpack of supplies – goggles, water, protein bars, dust masks, toilet paper, jackets – and head out North. DESERT EXPLORERSĪt night, we set out to see just how far we can go into the desert. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful moment, one of thousands happening at that very moment all over the playa. A member of the congregation stands up and ad libs new lyrics in an unexpectedly stunning voice. The afternoon that we’re inside the Trap, a random musician plays Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah on the pipe organ as a dozen people listen intently on pews. And almost all of it is burnt to a crisp at the end of the week. The interactive public art is temporary, mind-blowing, and thought-provoking, found in the most unexpected places and on a scale like no other gallery. ART CARNAGEīurning Man is, above all else, an arts festival that just happens to be held in the middle of nowhere. It’s the entry price to the greatest show on earth you have to pay with your body so that your mind can experience what happens when creativity has all the room it needs to reach its full potential. Burning Man is physically demanding almost all of the time. The latter memories will be conveniently forgotten, but it won’t take long for them to come crashing back. It’s the simple, unexpected moments that really make up your Burn, and every one of the 68,000 people surviving for a week in the desert has a completely different story.īurning Man is equal parts fucking amazing, and fucking difficult. At any given hour, there’s probably a hundred or so events happening at the same time, ranging from a cart on the side of the road serving picklebacks to thirsty Burners (a shot of whiskey chased by a shot of pickle brine), to massive outdoor fields ringed by fireballs and fireworks featuring some of the world’s biggest DJs, like Diplo and Paul Oakenfold. But that’s just one part of it. There are parties in every direction you look. And by night, you get on your bike and explore with a drink in your hand. The simplest answer I have is this: by day you get on your bike and explore. The most common questions asked of Burners are, ‘What the hell happens out there? What exactly do you do?’ (They’re normally followed immediately by, ‘Why?’). In its place is a deeper sense of curiosity for what’s actually behind the lights. The shock and awe of the senses that overwhelms your first experience is still there – you wouldn’t be human if the mental and physical stimulation around you didn’t affect you in some way – but the brightness is dialled down a tiny bit. VIRGIN NO MOREįirst time burners are known as virgins, and made up 36% of the population last year. The second time you go to Burning Man, everything is different - and I’m happy to have a little bit of knowledge that goes a long way. It takes days to construct and tear down, but the sense of pride in our achievement makes all the sweat worthwhile. The most infamous principle of Burning Man is that there’s no currency at all: everyone gives something back in their own way. We spend a few days erecting a two-storey-high wooden structure, complete a with reflective dome for projections, a DJ booth, lasers, a lookout (with binoculars), a suspended bridge, hammocks, a rope hang-out, a Moroccan-themed communal tent and even dancer poles for our daily sunset parties, with performances and open bars.
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