From burning to community: the Burning Man phenomenon
When he and his friends burned a wooden effigy on a San Francisco beach on the summer solstice of 1986, landscape designer Larry Harvey had no idea he was starting a new cultural movement. As he later explained in an interview, this spontaneous ritual was an attempt to “burn” his own personal and professional failures. The tradition of burning is not new: Eastern Slavs say goodbye to winter by burning an effigy on Maslenitsa, and in Alicante, Spain, huge papier-mâché figures are set on fire on the feast of San Juan. But the performance in San Francisco suddenly gathered a crowd of like-minded people who supported the idea of radical self-expression and decommodification — a rejection of consumer culture. Thus was born the global phenomenon of Burning Man.
On the penultimate night of the Burning Man festival, a ritual burning of a wooden figure several meters high takes place. Photo source: deadline.com
The world will not remember Larry Harvey's landscape designs, but he went down in history as the ideologist of the festival, which has come to life every year in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada since 1990. A temporary city grows on the dry, dusty ground - with streets, squares, camps and temples, between which monumental installations appear, challenging the imagination and blurring the boundaries between artist and viewer. A week later, Black Rock City disappears without a trace and, like a phoenix, is reborn a year later.
For some, Burning Man is a carnival of freaks and a celebration of the absurd, for others, a social experiment and a cultural event. Both views are right and do not contradict each other. It is a mix of Dadaism, Situationism, homages to Andrei Tarkovsky's films and dozens of subcultures from around the world. Burning Man's architecture is more social spaces than physical objects. They embody the principles of inclusion and participation, becoming the heart of collective performances. "It is much more than just a form. It is the group experience that creates such a large-scale work of art," said Dan Das Mann about his legendary copper oak The One Tree. It can be argued that Burning Man has brought back the idea of social sculpture, where the work becomes a catalyst for community.
The theme for Burning Man 2025 is Tomorrow Today. “I want us to have a future and to make it a reality together. Because right now our future is very uncertain,” explained Stuart Mangrum, director of the Burning Man Philosophy Center.
Participating in Burning Man is a challenge for every artist, amateur or professional. What should be the idea that is capable of capturing and consolidating thousands of people, if not resorting to the help of the "crutches" of advertising and marketing? Fresh to interest, close to evoke empathy, and deep to encourage a look into oneself. It must come from the heart, be personal and multifaceted. Epatage or technical skill are not enough.
Radical self-expression is one of the principles of the Burning Man festival. Photo: Georg Post
Outlandish costumes and customized moving mechanisms create a carnival atmosphere. Photo: Georg Post
Equinox of Curiosity is an installation by Rob Beckwith, one of many sculptures featured at Burning Man 2024. Photo: Georg Post
The dome of the non-denominational space The Temple of Together, designed by artist Caroline Ghosn in a neo-Gothic style for Burning Man 2024. Photo: Georg Post
Each of Burning Man’s outstanding sculptures carries its own philosophy, inviting participants to dialogue, reflection or action. From Dan Das Mann’s The One Tree (1998), where copper pipes united the elements of fire, water and steam into a single whole, to David Best’s openwork “temples” made of recycled wood that are burned as a symbol of purification, these works live in interaction with people. Best’s “temple” is a place where participants leave behind memories, pain or hopes, and fire completes the ritual of farewell. Marco Cochrane’s installation Truth is Beauty (2013) – a 17-meter female figure – has become an icon of the festival, provoking reflections on women’s safety and the power of human dignity. Laura Kimpton, with her word sculptures such as LOVE or DREAM (2011, 2015), transformed words into symbols that touch the emotions of participants. Michael Christian invited physical interaction: his Nebulous Entity (1998) challenged participants to immerse themselves in art with body and soul. Dana Albany created Mammoth from recycled trash (2010), reminding of environmental consciousness, and London-based designer Andrea Greenlees with the robot Bebot (2017) combined technology with an ironic view of modernity. One could go on and on, because in three decades the sands of Black Rock City have seen hundreds of creative masterpieces.
The theme of Burning Man 2025 is Tomorrow Today. “I want us to have a future and to make it a reality together. Because right now our future is very uncertain,” explained Stuart Mangrum, director of the Burning Man Philosophy Center. This idea resonates with the installation The Point of Unity by Ukrainian artist Mykola Kabluka, founder of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures and Expolight.
No one is able to reveal the essence and philosophy of an artistic object more accurately than its author. In an interview with Mykola Kabluka, we tried to cover all aspects: from the philosophy of The Point of Unity to the technical details of implementation.
The ritual burning of The Temple of Together and the sculpture of giant hands folded in prayer at Burning Man 2024. Photo: Eleanor Preger
Light and world
“We build a beehive, people bring honey — that’s how it works,” explained Larry Harvey, but the recipe for the festival’s appeal is actually much more complicated. A few years ago, the leaders of the Burning Man Project founded the Philosophical Center, which in its free time from orgmoments is busy studying the experience of building better communities. Even at first, exceptionally pragmatic glance, this is still the task: without an advertising campaign and pathos about creating masterpieces and saving the world, to gather about 100 thousand friendly and open people for a seven-day performance, to give them impressions that they will tell their grandchildren about. In 2024, the Philosophical Center conducted a survey to find out why people consider Burning Man so important that they are ready to spend a lot of money and survive in the desert without any usual comfortable conditions. It turned out that both avid Berners and those who have never visited Black Rock City consider the event a laboratory for new social models, an incubator of creativity and innovation, which promotes personal transformation and builds bridges between people.
Mykola Kabluka, chief lighting designer, art director and founder of Expolight and Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: Mykola, what motivated or provoked you to participate in Burning Man and not just go there as a spectator, but to prepare a large-scale installation called The Point of Unity for the festival?
Mykola Khabluka: Ideas are always connected to the sky, to space. When we dream or ponder, we raise our eyes upwards, as if drawing inspiration from the clouds. The Point of Unity is the result of a 25-year immersion in light, which I perceive as a metaphysical, three-dimensional substance that shapes space and the meanings of life. At Expolight and Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures, we think of light as a category that goes beyond technology, and this installation is the embodiment of such a vision.
The topic of participating in Burning Man came up when I was in Los Angeles at the awards ceremony for the "Heroes' Cross" project (formerly PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA wrote about this installation in an article "The Light Inside the "Heroes' Cross": Dedicated to Those Who Have Gone Beyond" and discussed as part of the panel discussion "Sacral Forms of Memory and Honoring Heroes." — Ed. Note). The Heroes' Cross caused quite a stir among American artists, and during one of the conversations I was suggested: "Why don't you create something for Burning Man? This is your place: visionaries, cosmopolitan creatives, people who think outside the box gather there." The theme of this year's festival is "Tomorrow is Today," so it's about ideas that change the world for the better, which is why it struck me. While I was flying back on the plane, the concept of The Point of Unity was fully formed: I would present not even a sculpture at Burning Man, but a meditative space where light, sound, and reflection create a dialogue between heaven and earth.
The Point of Unity is an installation by Mykola Kabluka for Burning Man 2025. The massive mirror disc rests on elegant, almost invisible supports, symbolizing the inspiration that people draw from contemplating the sky. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
The Point of Unity is an installation by Mykola Kabluka for Burning Man 2025. The massive mirror disc rests on elegant, almost invisible supports, symbolizing the inspiration that people draw from contemplating the sky. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
PM: Tell us more about what the installation is in a physical sense and what is the philosophy behind The Point of Unity: how exactly does it relate to your vision of the world?
M.K .: Often, even brilliant ideas remain unrealized: they lack funding, faith, or the ability to convey them to others. My installation is the point where the sky touches the earth, a place where dreams become reality. The image of the horizon, where the sky and the earth merge, is always unattainable, but I wanted to create a space where this boundary becomes tangible, where the sky is literally encrusted, "rooted" in the earth.
At the center of the installation is a huge mirror with a diameter of almost seven meters, which seems to float in the air. We hid the massive consoles and trusses in thin, almost invisible columns so that it seems weightless, like a cloud, and not a bulky structure. This mirror reflects the earth: people, the desert, the light that changes during the day. And inside it is a living disk of the sky with changing clouds. Underneath your feet is another mirror made of triplex glass. A person, standing on it, finds himself between two worlds at the point of their unity: he sees the sky, as if reflected in a puddle, encrusted in the earth, like a diamond. This is a place of meditation, inspiration, where bold, crazy ideas are born that find the strength to be embodied.
The mirrored platform at the base of The Point of Unity reflects the sky and clouds like a water surface. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
My sculptures are always woven into their surroundings, and The Point of Unity comes to life in the context of the Black Rock Desert. During the day, it transforms with the solar cycle: from the gentle haze of dawn to the rich noon and soft evening light. Each moment of the day adds new meaning to it, makes it alive. For example, the morning misty atmosphere enhances the etherealness, while at noon the mirrors reformat the space, as if dissolving the boundaries between the real and the imaginary.
For the night iteration, we used 3,5 fiber optic dots that mimic the starry sky, creating the effect of space descending to the ground. When the sand underfoot turns completely black, we illuminate it with custom filters, creating spectral refractions. White light, containing the entire spectrum of colors, breaks up into vibrant hues that dance in space, like clouds floating in the sky. These light patterns, programmed by algorithms, never repeat, like a flame or a sunset: they are similar, but always unique. This invites meditation, to contemplate a natural, living rhythm.
The Point of Unity installation is part of the surrounding landscape, adapting to the time of day and events around it. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
PM: The play of light is a key element of The Point of Unity, but you also use sound to create a sense of immersion. What is special about the audio channel in your installation?
M.K .: The sound in The Point of Unity resonates with the main idea of the installation. I wanted it to make you think: where are you directing your life? To mundane but important things - family, comfort, procreation? Or to something bigger, beyond the everyday? The world is much deeper than we tend to think, and this sculpture is a point of inspiration, a place where you feel your role in this vast cosmos. So I turned to the harmony of the Solar System. I took the ratio of the sizes, masses and orbits of the planets and the Sun, their interaction, and encoded these principles into a musical structure.
"Often, even brilliant ideas remain unrealized: they lack funding, faith, or the ability to convey them to others. My installation is the point where the sky touches the earth, a place where dreams become reality."
By the way, my first education was in mathematics. I have always been fascinated by how in physical processes — whether it be flares on the Sun or the cycles of nature — you can find mathematical patterns. For example, when I learned that the cycles of solar flares have a structure similar to Beethoven's musical compositions, it seemed brilliant: everything big is reflected in the small! Think: the planets, the Moon, the Sun — they are all in constant motion, but they do not collide, do not collapse. It is an amazing dance, a balance that we take for granted. So in The Point of Unity, sound is the harmony of cosmic bodies, translated into a melody that sounds natural and soothing, as if you are listening to the music of the Universe. This sound fabric, together with the play of light, creates a space where a person feels part of something bigger, where ideas are born and come to life.
PM: How does The Point of Unity, a mirror sculpture that invites one to enter, see the reflection of the sky, light, other people, and immerse themselves in deep contemplation, resonate in the Ukrainian cultural context? What is the main message you want to convey to Burning Man participants through the interaction of light, sound, and reflections?
M.K .: Even in the darkest times, in shelters, under fire, Ukrainians do not stop looking to the sky, dreaming and creating. The Point of Unity is about our Ukrainian spirit: we continue to believe in the future and create it. It was important for me to bring this message from Ukraine.
The Point of Unity features 3,5 fiber optic light points integrated into its mirrored surfaces. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
The war made us all think: what are we leaving behind? Previously, many people chased success, money, and stamped projects. But now, when you fall asleep with the thought that tomorrow your house may not stand, you realize the fragility of life. This pushes us, Ukrainians, to look higher, so it is not only about the existential, not about survival, but about how to create something holistic, meaningful. It pushes us to ask constructive questions: what can I create? What should my life be like? How does it affect society? How can we change the world for the better?
This passion, this inner energy of Ukrainians is impressive. This is not an existential reflection, but an active position: how can I enrich society, what am I here for? The installation embodies this idea: The Point of Unity is a place where you stand on the ground, but draw inspiration from the sky to create something more than everyday life. It tells the world about our ability to dream and create even in the darkest times, about the power that is born when we look at the sky while standing on the ground.
PM: Mykola, will the philosophy of The Point of Unity, which reflects the passion of Ukrainians and their desire for higher meanings, be close to people from other countries, from different continents, who will gather in the desert? Because today it sometimes seems that Ukrainians and people from other countries live in different realities.
M.K .: Light for me is not just a technology, but a world-shaping element, as in sacred architecture: from the oculus of the Pantheon to the lantern in the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Even modern architects, like Santiago Calatrava with his Oculus station in Manhattan, intuitively use light to influence the human condition. People always look to the sky when they dream, pray or search for meaning. The sky is a symbol of higher worlds, paradise, ideas that lift us up.
The hole in the mirror disk is an oculus, which ancient architects used in sacred structures to create a sublime atmosphere. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
In The Point of Unity, light is a bridge between the earth and the sky. Standing inside, a person sees a reflection of the world—themselves, others, clouds, stars—and feels part of something bigger. I am constantly exploring the nature of light—natural and artificial—and experimenting with technology to reveal its power. In this work, we used mirrors and laser light to create the effect that the sky descends to the earth, and the person is at the point of their unity.
Our first audience is the Berners, creative people with a special attitude towards art who go to the desert to build an entire city from nothing. At first, only art camps appear in the desert - hundreds of artists, their teams that mount installations. For me, this is a special moment: to be there when there is no crowd yet, only creators who are preparing their works. And in a day or two, Black Rock City appears - a huge temporary city, where about 100 thousand people come. And this is not chaos, but a community that lives on the principles of giving, mutual assistance, without monetary relations.
How many people will see The Point of Unity? It's hard to say for sure, but with so many participants, each art object becomes a magnet. People wander the playa, visit installations, participate in lectures, yoga, discussions or musical performances. The festival is not only entertainment, but a space where social barriers are erased. A billionaire or an artist, a CEO or a traveler - everyone is in costumes, in images, communicating on an equal footing, without status. This atmosphere of freedom and creativity attracts thousands of people. I am sure that our installation with its meditative energy and play of light will become a place where people come for inspiration. It will be an amazing experience - to see the desert come to life, and our sculpture resonate with the hearts of the participants.
The installation was tested in a workshop in Ukraine, then disassembled and shipped to the Black Rock Desert. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
Art without a price tag
The festival’s most appealing quality, according to its participants, is the opportunity to set aside the consumerism that permeates modern life for a week. Burning Man is realized through voluntary participation and crowdfunding. Despite the threat of commercialization that has hung over the festival for decades, it remains faithful to the philosophy of decommodification. This is one of the ten core principles of Burning Man, formulated by Larry Harvey in 2004. Decommodification involves creating an environment where art, interaction, and self-expression are freed from commercial pressure, advertising, or market mechanisms. In the context of Burning Man, this means refusing to monetize creativity: there are no sponsor logos, sales, or marketing campaigns at the festival. Everything, from monumental sculptures to temporary installations, is created for the experience, not for profit. For example, David Best's "temples" or Leo Villarreal's light sculptures in the Black Rock Desert have no price tag: their value lies in the way they bring people together, provoke reflection, or disappear in flames, leaving no trace for the market. This philosophy inspires artists to create for the sake of an idea, not commercial success, although paradoxically it is often these works that gain global attention outside the festival.
PM: The Point of Unity conveys the idea of making dreams come true, but, Mykola, how do you manage to implement this ambitious project? Who helps with the logistics and installation at Burning Man? After all, without local partners, it seems almost impossible. And how do you finance such a large-scale work?
M.K .: Yes, The Point of Unity's budget is really considerable — about $200. We invested our own company funds, but even at the concept stage I received offers from several customers and even mayors of Ukrainian cities who are ready to buy the sculpture after the festival. My friend Artur Mikhno from Work.ua also helps us. Although he is not going to Burning Man this year, he feels the importance of our idea and allocated $25 for logistics and installation. This support is very valuable, because it allows us to focus on creativity, and not just on organizational details. We do not have a local partner in the desert, but we are supported by the Burning Man organizers, who advise on conditions and logistics.
When disassembled, The Point of Unity fits inside a shipping container. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
We approached the implementation with an understanding of the festival's limitations. The sculpture was designed as a modular constructor so that it would fit into a shipping container. All elements — speakers, switching, protective film — were assembled and tested in Ukraine. We took into account that resources are limited in the Black Rock Desert, so we thought out a technology for quick installation. For example, due to the "zero trace" philosophy, it is forbidden to dig foundations at Burning Man. We developed geoscrews one and a half meters long, which are screwed into the soil and provide stability, but after dismantling they leave no traces. We tested everything in advance, filmed a video, checked each node.
PM: How long will it take to edit The Point of Unity on location in the desert?
M.K .: The sculpture has already left for the Black Rock Desert. Everything is thought out so that it can be assembled in a few days with minimal resources — with our team and volunteers. Myself, our engineer, and a few friends who will join the installation are going to the festival. We also invited several Ukrainians who live in the USA and have Burning Man experience to help install everything. In addition, we are cooperating with teams from other Ukrainian projects at the festival this year. Together we share some of the costs. We are installing a professional Starlink with a wide channel to ensure communication, and a stele with a QR code, with which people can read about the idea and technology of the sculpture, and delve deeper into its meaning. For power, we use powerful batteries that will ensure the operation of The Point of Unity during the seven days of the festival. These batteries are so powerful that we will share energy with two neighboring Ukrainian installations. This is not just a technical solution, but part of our approach: to unite, support, and share, just like the idea of sculpture itself.
This is what the ephemeral Black Rock City looks like, which is being built in the desert for Burning Man. Photo: Scott London
Neurodynamic camp
Black Rock City, the ephemeral heart of Burning Man that sprouts up every year on a dry playa, is a temporary city about 2,5 km in diameter, designed in the shape of a semicircle with concentric streets radiating from a central point - the sculpture The Man. Radial streets, named after the hour (for example, 3:00 or 9:00), intersect circular alleys, creating a clear grid. The city consists of tents, vans, yurts and temporary structures that participants bring with them. The center of the camp is a hub with a cafe, information point and performance stages. Temples, art objects and "mutant" vehicles are scattered around, adding to the chaotic magic.
In addition to Mykola Kabluka’s The Point of Unity, Ukraine will be represented at Burning Man 2025 with three more powerful installations. Black Cloud by Oleksiy Say from Kyiv embodies invisible threats — from global crises to personal challenges, prompting conversations about resilience and hope. HeyDay by Volodymyr Ponomarenko from Kharkiv, a mirrored stainless steel flower, reflects beauty and endurance in the harsh conditions of the desert. And Merman by Andriy Krapyvchenko and Wonder Workshop, a wooden sculpture — a floating man or mythical creature — symbolizes transformation and connection with nature. Each of these projects, reflecting the theme “Tomorrow is Today,” adds a Ukrainian voice to the creative dialogue at Black Rock City.
"For The Point of Unity, burning would be impossible - too much soul and meaning is invested in this work. We consciously decided to return it to Ukraine so that it would become a symbol of resilience and creativity."
PM: Mykola, you mentioned collaborating with other Ukrainian teams at Burning Man. How exactly do you interact? Do you exchange technical advice on installation or transportation? And will the Ukrainian sculptures be located together in the desert?
M.K .: I am not closely acquainted with all the Ukrainian participants, but there is some interaction. For example, we met with Oleksiy Sai at the PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA event. Coordination between all of us is largely ensured by the Burning Man organizing committee — they appoint curators who advise on conditions in the desert.
There is a Ukrainian camp in Black Rock City, Camp Kurenivka, an incredibly dynamic initiative supported by Yaroslav Korets, an experienced Burning Man participant. He shares practical advice: how to better organize the installation, what to consider in the desert, how to optimize resources. His experience helps not only us, but also other Ukrainian teams.
As for the location, the Ukrainian sculptures will be relatively close to each other. The Playa is a huge space in the center of Black Rock City, several kilometers in diameter, where the installations are scattered. The organizers placed our works in a kind of cluster, which is very cool. This strengthens the Ukrainian presence, creates a sense of unity. The Kurenivka camp is located closer to the central circle, and we will all share energy, ideas, and support in the desert together, as a small community.
Burning Man guests will be able to learn more about the concept and creation of The Point of Unity by following a link on a screen mounted in the structure’s console. Image courtesy of Kabluka Light & Digital Sculptures
Sculptures outside the desert
Some objects are burned at the end of the festival, emphasizing the ephemerality of art, while others travel the world, to museums and city squares. For example, Marco Cochrane's Truth is Beauty has become part of permanent exhibitions in the United States, including in Reno, Nevada, where it is installed as a symbol of human dignity. Andrea Greenlees' Bebot from the United Kingdom has settled in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, as an example of technological art.
The festival has helped launch the careers of a number of artists whose desert installations have catapulted them to international acclaim. For example, David Best, often called the “godfather” of Burning Man temples, was invited to create temporary temples outside the desert after his success at the festival, and his work is exhibited in the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery. Leo Villarreal, a pioneer of global art, made his Burning Man debut with dynamic LED installations that respond to movement and sound. His temporary light sculpture for a bridge at the 2000s festival became the prototype for a permanent installation on the Bay Bridge near San Francisco in 2013. Villarreal has since designed 17 bridges around the world. Burning Man has become not only an artistic experiment, but also a cultural accelerator that brings artists onto the global stage, so the desire to preserve a work of art so that it can be seen by more than just Burners is quite reasonable.
PM: Many people associate Burning Man with the ritual burning of sculptures, but not all of them are destroyed. You mentioned that you decided to preserve The Point of Unity and return it to Ukraine. Where exactly do you plan to bring it?
M.K .: Two key objects — "Man" and "Temple" — are burned at the end of the week. "Temple", in particular, is a place where people leave notes, dedications, memories of loved ones, about what they want to say goodbye to. At the moment of burning, music sounds, people stand in silence, experiencing this catharsis. Some sculptures are created from temporary materials, for example, from plywood or paper, and they are simply disposed of. However, many of the installations are taken out, transferred to museums, galleries or private collections around the world.
I'm Fine installation, created by Ukrainians Oleksiy Sai, Anatoly Topolsky, and Vitaliy Deynega from bullet-damaged street signs for the Burning Man 2024 festival. Photo: Ryan Mathewson
For The Point of Unity, burning would be impossible - too much soul and meaning is invested in this work. We consciously decided to return it to Ukraine so that it becomes a symbol of sustainability and creativity. The exact location has not yet been determined, but within a few months we will choose a location that emphasizes its message: it will be a space where the sculpture can inspire and unite. We are considering three locations proposed by partners who are ready to buy and preserve this sculpture.
The return of The Point of Unity to Ukraine is an important gesture. It will serve as a reminder of our strength — during and after the war. The installation will tell the story of Ukraine: how, despite everything, we continue to dream and create, becoming a symbol of cultural resilience.
Cultural diplomacy in the sands
Burning Man ceased to be a purely American event in the mid-1990s, when word of the festival in the Black Rock Desert spread to Canada, Europe, and Australia. The growth in the number of participants—from 800 in 1990 to 30 in 586—gave international attention. In 2003, the Burning Man Project opened a network of regional centers to support events abroad, and by 2004, the festival had reached 2025 countries. Today, the festival has outgrown the definition of a “heterotopia” or “counterspace,” becoming a global space for dialogue.
PM: Mykola, why is it personally important for you to represent Ukraine at Burning Man?
M.K .: This is a question of cultural diplomacy. Today, Ukraine is known to the whole world, but it is often associated only with war, the struggle for survival. Our task is to fill this fame with meaning, to show who Ukrainians are, how we are unique. We are not just victims or defenders - we are a nation that, despite limited resources, achieves incredible results. And this is what I want to say in the language of art through The Point of Unity.
“The Point of Unity reminds us: everything starts with a person. With the light within. And this sacred moment of unity — when the light from above is embodied on earth, and you find yourself inside this process — becomes a metaphor for the changes that the world so needs.”
Our sculpture tells and proves by its very existence that even in the struggle for survival we look to the sky, think constructively, want to change the world. We are not passive, but take responsibility for our lives and society. This is what distinguishes Ukrainians: the willingness to create, sacrifice, act. I see this in my surroundings - businessmen who think not only about the survival of their companies or families, but about how to change society, how to leave a mark.
The Point of Unity is created for people who have their feet on the ground, but dream, looking up to the sky. Ukrainians are exactly like that: even in the most difficult conditions, we do not lose creativity and inspiration. We believe that the world can and should be changed. This sculpture is our message to the world: Ukrainians are a nation that creates, dreams, and acts despite everything. And at Burning Man, we want to show this at the highest level, so that our voice sounds powerful and unforgettable. The Point of Unity reminds us: everything starts with a person. With the light within. And this sacred moment of unity — when the light from above is embodied on earth, and you find yourself inside this process — becomes a metaphor for the changes that the world so needs.
The Burning Man burning ceremony gathers all the residents of Black Rock City in the center of the playa. Photo: Rand Larson
To create despite everything
Burning Man has been going through turbulence in recent years: organizational costs are increasing, Nevada authorities are raising fees and introducing new restrictions. A heated debate and confrontation are currently underway within the community. The mere thought of allowing corporate partnerships to relieve the financial burden and refuse to increase ticket prices provokes fierce rejection among decommodification advocates, who believe that a commercial approach will change the DNA of the event, after which Burning Man will fade away. It is possible that the voices of those fighting to lift the ban on commerce will overcome the veto, because the ideologist Larry Harvey died in 2018, and many believe that his principles are not so immutable and no longer relevant to a rapidly changing world. Therefore, it is for the better that Ukrainian artists have not postponed their participation until better times and are acting in full accordance with the motto of 2025 — Tomorrow Today, with stubborn faith in the future that begins today.
