Structures installed in the Nevada desert as Burning Man festival gets underway

This year’s Burning Man festival is now underway in Nevada.

Every year, tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage to a ‘temporary city’ in the Nevadan desert, over 100 miles from Reno.

Everything that happens in Black Rock City is created by its temporary residents. The artistic theme for Burning Man 2019 has been named ‘metamorphoses’ and it’s all about transformation, as the official festival website explains:

“This year’s theme is a celebration of change, and an exploration of uncertainty. As such it invites a consideration of time; not its circular nature, or its attendant ritual, but in this case the relentless flight of time’s arrow, and an embrace of the elusive now.”

This year’s theme is a celebration of change, and an exploration of uncertainty. As such it invites a consideration of time; not its circular nature, or its attendant ritual, but in this case the relentless flight of time’s arrow, and an embrace of the elusive now.

The transformational theme will influence the festival’s architecture with amazing structures being installed throughout Black Rock City, ranging from huge statues and sculptures to forts and smaller art installations.

Burning Man had already unveiled this year’s temple design earlier in the year, a linear structure influenced by Japanese torii gates, which the committee say was chosen for its “elegant simplicity.”

The Burning Man Journal said: “This linear form reflects the passage of life with its beginning, middle, and end. Throughout the structure, there are areas that reflect this journey: narrow & wide spaces, bright & dark spaces, and tunnels that create intimate physical settings. Meanwhile, a large central hall, an altar, and many shelves for offerings create the setting for our collective experience.”The temple, which was designed and made by San Francisco-based artist Geordie Van Der Bosch, will be burnt down at the end of the festival along with the traditional ‘man’ that the event is named after and other structures across the desert setting.

Check out more images of the constructions here.