Massive pyramids, slides and a temple resembling a giant, fragmented stone have been captured at this year’s Burning Man event in Nevada, USA, by photographer Gurpreet Chawla.
Tens of thousands of visitors made camp in the Nevada desert, creating the temporary Black Rock City for a week earlier this month.
Volunteers, artists, and designers came together to create massive works to be enjoyed alongside the music, cultural activities, and other offerings of the festival, which is known for its DIY ethos and extravagant displays.
Every year, a massive temple and a pavilion for the eponymous man effigy are set up in the desert and designed by someone chosen by the Burning Man organisation.
These two massive pieces are always set on fire near the end of the event, and are both included in the assortment of installations below.
Read on for nine striking installations from this year’s event:
Black Cloud by Ukrainians ART Group
Designed by artist Oleksiy Sai to represent the war in Ukraine, Black Cloud was a massive inflatable installation set up in the desert and accompanied by a soundscape including sirens and other sounds of the war.
Soon after installation, on 24 August, opening day, it was torn apart by a desert windstorm, which organisers said was symbolic of the themes of destruction and loss inherent in the piece, added to the fact that 24 August is Ukrainian Independence Day.
The Point of Unity by Mykola KablukaÂ
Artist and lighting designer Mykola Kabluka designed this metallic sculpture with an oculus at the centre of its saucer-like cap.
The facade of the installation reflects light during the day, and at night, it becomes the backdrop for light displays. According to Kabluka, it was designed to explore “complex optical effects”.
The PlayAlchemist Grand Pyramid by PlayAlchemist Camp
Created by a Vancouver-based team led by artist Krystal Commons, the 72-foot-tall (22 metres) pyramid has a steel frame clad in polycarbonate panels.
It was designed to be a gathering space during the day and a dance venue at night, with the panels being illuminated by large-scale projection mapping.
Eye to the Sky by Michael White
This plywood structure worked as a massive canopy, providing shade while leaving openings to look up at the sky.
It was designed to be a “living room” for the deep desert and featured a series of curved plywood seating around a central sculpture.
Temple of the Deep by Miguel Arraiz
Arraiz and his team created this year’s Burning Man temple based on two influences: natural sanctuaries such as caves and Baroque architecture. The exterior is monolithic and rough-hewn, while the interior structure was created to be complex and guide people through a winding journey.
“Like a heart shattered into a thousand pieces, it bears visible scars — reminders of the pain that forged resilience,” said Arraiz. “These scars are not flaws; they are the marks of healing, proof that even in fragmentation, we can find strength and wholeness.”
Vertica by Clayton Blake
Informed by brutalist architecture, this inhabitable stainless steel structure features a facade covered in a grid with translucent panels designed to give the structure the appearance of increased height.
A seamlessly integrated door leads to a ladder by which visitors could ascend the structure.
Vessels of Love by Alberto Marcos
This structure was constructed of steel and sets of ladders and platforms that end in a pair of intersecting slides, which, when viewed from the side, resembles a graphic heart.
It was designed to encourage users “to explore and express the depths of human experience”
The Cosmic Carousel by Michael Walsh
Drawing influences from futurism, this massive sculpture sits on a rounded base and has metallic sides designed to gleam in the desert sun.
Without ladders, it was designed so that visitors would help each other ascend to the platform, where a conversation pit was placed where “shared effort becomes shared reflection, and connection becomes the artwork itself” according to Walsh.
The World Fair of Unity by Mark “Kidnetick” Rivera
The pavilion for this year’s effigy was created based on industrial architecture and the styles of 19th-century World Fairs.
Designed to use simple units of measurement, the pavilion includes two ramps that encircle the base of the effigy.
The photography is by Gurpreet Chawla.
Burning Man took place from 24 August to 1 September in Black Rock City, Nevada. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.