One of the art festival’s official photographers will be exhibiting his work at the Sea to Sky Gallery through to September.
Folks can now get a glimpse of Burning Man in Britannia Beach, through a photographer’s “otherworldly” lens, at the Sea to Sky Gallery.
The exhibit, opening Aug 22 through to Sept 10, is curated with shots of art installations and candid moments from the global arts festival, originating in Nevada, U.S.
“The largest temporary outdoor art gallery in the world,” has been captured as a form of art itself by widely-published and award-winning event photographer Mark Fromson, who is now a part of the Burning Man Project’s official documentation team for the third year running.
According to Fromson’s Facebook post, the Sea to Sky Gallery exhibit will be his first solo gallery show for his Burning Man photography.
Fromson moved to Britannia Village from Vancouver in May, and works as a software project manager. He said he uses his software management skills for his work in post-production, sometimes spending up to an hour on one photo before publishing it.
“I really try to get the most iconic shot I can, whether it’s a person or the artwork itself. My photos have a style that can be picked out from other Burning Man photographers; they’re very colourful and vibrant, and not as subdued as maybe some others,” Fromson said.
“A lot of people ask me if my photos are AI because I try to make it look so otherworldly. What I try to do is bring out what it feels like to be there. It really is a surreal experience. You just can’t believe your eyes sometimes.”
Burning Man has an ethos of gift-giving for the community there. Attendees bring camps, trinkets, and food, and the like. Fromson has made a point of giving some artists’ temporary work a permanent space, which is how, he said, he got noticed by the documentation team.
“Some of (the artists’) work doesn’t find a home after, and so (my work) became for the artists. I started making little cards with my contact info, and I started gifting photos to people I met, then I’d find the artists, and I’d make sure they would get a copy (by tagging them online).”
Fromson said he has now formed a camp that is Burning Man’s “post-office,” mailing out 15,000 postcards all over the world at each Burning Man festival, for free.
Fromson first attended Burning Man in 2017 without a camera at all, because he wanted to “just experience it.” He described his first Burning Man festival as “profound,” but now has a “love-hate” relationship with it, as he experiences a lot of it now quite literally through a lens.
His responsibilities, however, also include perks such as a free festival ticket and a lot of “insider access.”
“It’s a part of my identity now,” he said.
Starting as an “amateur photographer,” Fromson gradually grew an audience online, and has now photographed Burning Man seven times, culminating in global acclaim.
Fromson was recognized as one of the top 10 amateur photographers in the world at the International Photography Awards (IPA) in 2024, held in Greece, for event photography.
His work has been exhibited in Italy, Hungary, Greece, and Thailand, and published across outlets such as Forbes, British Columbia Magazine, and The Telegraph (U.K.).
Burning Man photography at the Sea to Sky Gallery will open on Saturday, Aug. 22 and run through to Sept 10 at 105, Church Street in Britannia Village. Admission is free.
There will be an opening reception on Aug. 22 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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Ina Pace is The Squamish Chief’s Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) reporter.
This reporting was produced through the LJI, which supports original civic journalism across Canada.