This massive temporary community of 70,000 people meet in the desert to immerse themselves in the most radical art and cultural project on the planet. This year we supported three projects in a small way, but should have been backing Australia’s own contribution by artist Clayton Blake, whose shopping trolley sculpture was one of the best pieces of Playa art. Anyone can arrive with a sculpture to erect with only a minor approval from BRC, and Clayton’s was one of those unanticipated surprises. Overall, the art didn’t measure up to previous years. But the event is still ineffably wondrous, the Playa a limitless, psychedelic wilderness, where all sorts of crazy ideas get explored without the norms of public safety. Hedonism and risk abound in all the right ways, and Burning Man is filled with moments of sublime beauty and surprise. Its cultural relevance will endure despite the doubters, as its always reinventing and adapting itself, outliving its own hype from one year to the next. The Burners from Metro Chop are behind you Clayton Blake. http://www.claytonblake.com/
Press: Merran Morrison spoke to Hannah Molyneau of Art Pharmacy about the cultural impact and relevance of an art event like Burning Man: https://www.artpharmacyconsulting.com/ideas-source/2018/10/12/the-australian-art-curator-blog-what-can-australian-creatives-learn-from-burning-man