Best Art Installations at Burning Man 2023

Here is our round-up of the best art at Burning Man 2023.

Every year tons of people create art installations to put on display in the playa at Burning Man. The art installations can be simply visually enjoyed but are also meant to evoke and inspire a feeling in the attendees.

A lot of thought and energy goes into making each piece as well. The artists usually spend all year gathering supplies and building them to make sure they are in perfect condition to last all week while out in the desert. It is also part of the experience to wander around Burning Man to look at each.

I STILL LOVE YOU

This piece was created by light artist Olivia Steele. She explained it represents “better to get burned than to have never felt the warmth of the flame.” Along with how in alchemy fire represents emotions such as passion, love, compassion, and anger. It burned every day at sunrise and sunset.

No Dancing

The large No Dancing letters were created in hopes of daring participants to defy by coming up to it with a boogie, shuffle, or strut, in a rhythmic rebellion. But once you got closer it had small letters written on it with a true story of someone’s collision with a rule and the consequences: banishment, termination, expulsion, or incarceration. It was created by Cody Smith & Looking Up Arts from San Francisco, California.

MARIPOSA

Mariposa means butterfly in Spanish. The 26’ x 14’ butterfly has flapable wings that people can lay under and look up at. The wing flapping is also powered by people swinging in a chair. It has 38,000 LED lights on it that move along with the music that is played. It was created by Christopher Schardt from Oakland, California.

BREAKING OPEN

The broken heart represents the potential for healing and transformation along with new life. It ignites and as it burns away a butterfly is revealed. It was created by Butterfly Heart Tribe from Topanga, California.

LIQUID FOREST

The Liquid Forest art installation is inspired by whimsical, jellyfish-inspired creatures and it is 12 feet tall by 15 feet in diameter. The jellies would pulse and morph to create an artful ‘bio-luminescent’ playground. Each of the jellies has 10,000 LED lights inside of recycled plastic rods and it also has the strobe light bubbles that activate the mirrored zoetrope art disks when the jellies spin. It was created by Richard Wilks from Los Angeles, California.

LOVE THY BEAST

This art installation shows otherworldly creatures each wearing a different mask that represents the different masks we wear in the world for protection and preservation. But in the middle is a merry-go-round that represents the inner child that everyone has. It was created by Zea Narvaez from Portland, Oregon.

CATUS OF LIFE. A MIRROR OF TRUTH. AWAKEN YOUR TRUE SELF

It was created by David Lombrozo, Tania Ordoñez, Pablo Fernandez and Humberto Wong. It offers a glimpse inside of oneself and all are welcome to see themselves as they are with no prejudice. The cactus was used because of how it survives in harsh conditions and its psychedelic properties.