Quarantine Chronicles: Virtual Burning Man?
© Souraya Jureidini
By Lamia Baladi
It was on a solstice summer night in 1986. Two friends, Larry Harvey and Jerry James, gathered on Baker Beach in San Francisco to burn an eight-foot wooden man attracting a curious crowd. In the following years, what the two friends coined ‘the Burning Man’ grew in size, reaching its actual 40 foot size, and the community gathering to watch the burning ritual grew in number. And so it began. In 1990, the wooden man was moved to the Black Rock Desert, in Nevada, and has been since erected there. Almost three decades later, the Burning Man event gathers more than 70,000 people in the Black Rock desert, coming together to build Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis created by the participants, comprising camps, villages, art installations and campings.
But don’t let Instagram posts of influencers dancing naked in faux-fur coats, pink wigs and captain hats fool you. While in recent years, and in light of the social media era, it might have started to appear as a go-to festival for influencers eager to take the perfect shot for their instagram stories, it is still first and foremost a place that celebrates principles of art, community and self-expression and where the eclectic participants vary from toddlers to eighty-year old couples.
© Souraya Jureidini
© Souraya Jureidini
© Souraya Jureidini
Burning Man is somewhat of a pilgrimage not only for the artistic and creative community, but for anyone looking to expand their horizons and break down their reality. ‘Burners’ (name given to the participants), many of them within my personal entourage, profess that their experiences changed their lives and played a significant role in shaping who they are and the values they stand for. As Larry Harvey, Burning Man founder beautifully avowed “We make the hive. They bring the honey. We create just enough order so that this spontaneous naturally occurring process called culture, which is born of the interactions of people that no one can plan and no one can control, will begin to happen.”
But for the first time in thirty year, the Black Rock desert will remain deserted and vacant during that last week of August. Following the wave of cancellations caused by the current pandemic, Burning Man is going virtual, keeping the planned theme of the “Multiverse”. This has caused controversy and conflicting responses by burners. How can an event that is preeminently based on human connections, magical encounters and in which the essence lies in the serendipitous electric experiences be replicated online?
For many, the setting plays a vital part in the experience and in the freedom of expressing themselves. The landscape, a flat white vastness rimmed by mountains, the dust in your hair, the surreal sunrises resembling fire blossoming from the earth enables you to put things into perspective and to break free from boundaries. Art also holds a huge part in the process: being surrounded by larger than life climbable structures triggers inner creativity, innovation and self-expression. All things above considered, it would appear difficult to recreate that through a screen, where the tangible becomes virtual, limiting physical connections. Event organizers acknowledged the uncertainty, stating “We’re not sure how it’s going to come out; it will likely be messy and awkward with mistakes. It will also likely be engaging, connective, and fun”. While this might entail burners bringing out their extravagant costumes and dressing up, others dropping acid in front of their screens or even burning wooden structures in their backyard as offerings, the virtual event is not a substitute for the in-real-life one. Instead, it gives place to explore new opportunities. After all, it is a place where creative minds connect to bolster innovation. It is first and foremost a culture, a movement represented by the community. And whether online or in the playa, Burners will embrace the values and principles taught in the desert to overcome these difficult times, create something beautiful in the hope of meeting once again in the playa dust.
© Souraya Jureidini
© Souraya Jureidini
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