BitCube
By Colin O'Donnell & crime.wav
IG: bigcube.playa
Bitcube is 222 IBC totes held together with 5,000 hose clamps and stainless steel zip ties. Assembled by dozens, climbed by thousands, we breathed magic into plastic flesh and metal bone. Electric nerves and glowing thoughts. Mating with art cars and sheltering schools of bikes, it's morphed from a cube egg on playa to a sprawling adolescent at the Loom.
Paradisium
By Dave Keane
IG: davekeane / follybuilders
Dave is born & raised in Ireland and has lived in the Bay Area the last 25 years. He is the principal & founder of Follybuilders. An institution that has been building large scale art since 2015. His contributions can be found in: Totem of Confessions (build lead, 2015), Lighthouse (build lead 2016), Temple 2017, Galaxia 2018
His own project are: The Folly 2019, Paradisium 2023, Y-knot saloon art car 2022
Besides his art project, he runs a Woodshop and general contracting business in the Bay Area since 2005. His work is inspired by his childhood growing up around old world craftsmen and shipwrights clock makers.
Eternal Return
By Peter Hudson
www.hudzo.com
IG: Hudzoetrope
Peter Hudson, known as "Hudzo," hails from Ben Lomond, CA, now residing in San Francisco. He boasts of directing the shortest yet tallest 3D animation shorts, realized as life-size stroboscopic zoetropes. With 30 years of experience in stage and set design, including collaborations with the San Francisco Opera, Ballet, TV, and film, Hudson's creativity flourishes in his large-scale sculptural installations. Notably, his work, including "Possession," featured on Rolling Stone Italy's cover, culminates in six stroboscopic zoetropes, his latest being "Eternal Return."
Eternal Return is a 28’ tall, human-powered zoetrope with strobe lights. As people engage the rowing-pulleys, it spins, activating the lights, bringing the piece to life. The concept, speculating on the universe's infinite recurrence, echoes across cultural and religious narratives. Designed by Peter Hudson, it featured at Ghost Ship 2015 and 2014 Halloween in San Francisco, initially appearing at Burning Man 2014.
Farmer the Rigger
By Zulu
zuluheru.art
IG: zulu.art
“Farmer the Rigger is a self portrait of my artistry, following my career from my first job as a Farmer to becoming a Crane Operator/Rigger. This is my resume sculpture showcasing the countless hours spent mastering my craft.”
It serves as a guardian spirit, this awe-inspiring sculpture pays homage to the working class and skilled laborers, embodying the culmination of time dedicated to perfecting one’s vocation. As a 2023 Burning Man Honorarium Grant recipient, Farmer the Rigger transcends its physical presence, delivering a message of community elevation, embracing one’s journey, and committing to self mastery.
Entwined Devil
By Charles Gadeken
charlesgadeken.com
Charles Gadeken is an industrial artist working in the Bay Area for over 25 years at the BoxShop Http://www.boxshopsf.org. His monumental interactive public artworks reimagine the world “post-nature” and include commissions from Burning Man, Insomniac, Coachella, Absolut Vodka, the Cities of Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Reno. He has exhibited internationally and been featured in the Wall Street Journal. Inspired by the objects, structures and processes in the world around us, Charles’ art depicts natural objects in fantastic ways. Often incorporating and developing technology for various effects — LEDs, flame, hydraulics, and electricity — to increase the visual and physical impact of his work, he seeks to instill a sense of play into the environment. Ever curious, Charles takes the forms of things we tend to overlook and remakes them as magical objects that exist as portals to our collective consciousness.
Integumentum
By Linden JL
LindenJL.com
IG: tilia_tree
LindenJL is an Oakland-based artist, designer, and arts community organizer. Their art practice explores estranged embodiment through meditative crafting processes which span and integrate traditional and unconventional media.
Initiated in 2023, the Integumentum installation series has traveled to music festivals and filled interactive arts spaces across California. While exploring the translucent layers of suspended chiffon, participants navigate the multi-sensory boundaries between clarity and obscurity. The work serves as an exploration of tangibility and embodiment.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING, 2016
By Olivia Steele
oliviasteele.com
IG: @steeleism
Neon artist Olivia Steele is known for her spirited, neon happenings on the playa and around the globe. First installed as a renegade installation at the last Further Future in 2016 at the Moapa River Indian Reservation, it found its way back for a second rodeo at the Robot Heart Residency.
Through its vivid neon glow, the piece symbolizes a journey of awakening and discovery, suggesting that the current state is merely a starting point for profound transformation. The installation invites viewers to reflect on personal and collective growth, emphasizing optimism and resilience. By casting light this time of darkness, it embodies hope, encouraging onlookers to embrace the endless possibilities that lie ahead.
Floral Grunge
By Kelsi Lavicka
IG: Kelsi.Love
Blossomed from my heartfelt wish to give flowers a longer, more meaningful journey beyond their fleeting role in a single day at a wedding. By repurposing event flowers, I was able to transform single-use decor that was destined for the trash into new installations in San Francisco's dance & warehouse spaces. The striking juxtaposition of florals against industrial backdrops creates a moment to pause & reflect on life's unexpected beauty. Every flower is placed with intention & love. Foraged, dried, reused & refreshed as a continuation of celebratory expression.
So much love to my teachers, Gina & Olivia for lighting the way. Forever in gratitude.
Full Circle
By Ian Ross
IG: ianrossart
When my heart is full and my hands are activated, paint moves like an owl in the night, we watch and smile and dance. I transmit the energy of the moment in gestures, and share in the experience with friends. For love, and beats, and butterflies and caterpillars, everyone finds their own meaning in the painting. The evolution is a shared journey, a voyage across a dusty expanse of imagination, a portrait of the energy we create together.
This piece has been created live during the Robot Heart residency.
Grandma’s House
By Adesha
www.adeshamusic.com
IG: adeshamusic
Adesha is a singer, songwriter, actress, artist, and designer born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland. She designed "Earlene’s Boutiki" as an immersive experience for the play she co-wrote called "CoFounders" (www.cofoundersthemusical.com).
Much of Adesha's artistic inspiration comes from her strong matriarchal grandmother, who just made 102, her mother, and her Aunts.
Dave Abel
www.radiantatmospheres.com
IG: radiant.atmospheres
Radiant Atmospheres is a collaborative effort of several skilled designers and artisans. By pooling resources we are able to realize outlandish concepts and create beautiful and stunning works of light and emotion.
Specializing in atmospheric design and spatial projection, we have an extensive inventory of effects and event lighting. Our designers have an unconventional perspective—we see things in a different light.
