Phoenix and Memorial to the Fallen: two installations from Ukraine opened at Burning Man
Two installations from Ukraine were opened at the iconic Burning Man festival, which began on 27 August this year – the Hedgehog Temple and the Ukrainian Phoenix, the project of which was kept secret until the last.
The installation in the form of a phoenix bird, which resembles the coat of arms of Ukraine, was opened on 31 August in the Black Rock Desert, where the festival takes place.
This installation was kept in secret, installed while boarded up, and eventually burned to reveal the sculpture itself.
"A Ukrainian sculpture being born through fire... It is about Ukraine and about each of us. About how we have become stronger than ever," Vitaliy Deineha, the founder of the Povernys Zhyvym ("Come Back Alive") Foundation, and currently the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, wrote on Facebook. He also conducted a live broadcast of the opening of the Ukrainian installation.
"This is the Ukrainian Phoenix that went through fire and rose from the ashes. Visually, it is similar to a trident. But it is a bird," Deineha added.
Ukrainian artist Oleksii Sai and architect and artist Dana Kosmina created the Phoenix sculpture for Burning Man. The eight-metre-high sculpture was designed to embody the unity and steadfastness of the Ukrainian spirit, and the performance of burning the box that hid it symbolised what happened to Ukraine and Ukrainians.
"The allegory of this work is very simple. [Russia] wanted to destroy us as a nation. But the fire hardened us. We came out of the fire, and it only made our skin rougher and us stronger. We were reborn through the fire. And let us not choose it for ourselves – but we've made it, and we continue every day... I feel like we're at that point as a nation. The fire is still burning and trying to destroy us. We're hurting. The flames of war and death are burning us. But we're coming out stronger than ever," Deineha explained the idea.
Another installation from Ukraine was presented at the festival by the Ukrainian Burners community the day before. This is the Hedgehog Temple, a memorial to Ukrainians who died in the full-scale Russian invasion.
"We opened a memorial at the world's largest event for free people – Burning Man... We brought dozens of stories of fallen cultural figures to show that this war is not just a ‘military conflict’, it is a people's war in which every conscientious Ukrainian takes part," the artist Oleksandr Slobodianyk said.
Slobodianyk says the stories of dead artists, singers, musicians and other creatives are collected at the installation. Their stories were sent by relatives and friends who wanted to remind the world of their loss and emphasise that the war is still going on.
"In two days, I shed all my tears, because how could I not. So many people, so many words of support and understanding. It seems that we have hit everyone right in the heart," Slobodianyk shared.
About the Burning Man festival
Burning Man is an annual festival of independent art. It has been held since 1986 in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada (USA). At the festival, various art objects are installed in the desert, and at the end, a giant human figure made of wood is burned.
Burning Man 2023 takes place from 27 August to 4 September. Its subject is ANIMALIA.
Last year, the Lithuanian-American camp Amber Dust installed a five-metre trident at the festival to signify solidarity with Ukraine. Burning Man installations representing Ukraine in previous years can be seen in the video:
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