A monumental sculptural figure strides forward through invisible resistance. One hand shields a heart-shaped opening cut through the chest, while the other grips a staff planted firmly into the ground. Its posture suggests motion, endurance, and deliberate will. By day, the heart appears as a visible absence carved into the body. By night, a flame burns within the cavity, turning the void into a source of light. This artwork reflects on perseverance. Throughout our lives, we move towards our dreams, overcoming external forces – personal trauma, political upheavals, displacement, and self-doubt. The open heart symbolizes the scars of our lived experience that we carry inside—the fire within stands for love, resilience, and the inexhaustible desire to live. The staff becomes a symbol of direction, purpose, and conscious will. The piece includes a participatory element. Inscribed on the staff are three questions: Who are you? Where are you going? And why? Below the inscription, a marked handgrip invites viewers to engage with the artwork. Upon contact, a beam of light projects into the sky — a symbolic gesture that transforms private intention into a visible statement. The act is a brief but ceremonial moment of deep introspection, where personal resolve becomes part of a shared experience.  

Our art project is two parts (one is a secret 😉) but we’d like help with part 2: The Guerilla Pop-Up Birds Here’s the idea: It’s a bird take-over of the Burn! We will be creating as many life-size paper mache guinea fowls & hadedas as possible (realistically,10-30) and secretly installing them over the course of Burn week. The idea is that they will pop up unexpectedly, with more and more of them showing up as the week goes on. We’re thinking:  Cable-tied to Burners’ cars’ bullbars Screwed down on top of the street signs Screwed down on the wall of a toilet  Screwed down on other artwork (assuming the artists give permission, of course)  Rebarred down near theme camp entrances Hanging down from scaffolding  etc. What we need help with, in rough order of importance: Bird-making – Come paper-mache with us 🙂 We’ve got all the parts, tools and know-how. Once you learn how to make a bird, we’ve got a GoogleDoc so you can also make them on your own or host other bird-making parties 😉 Transport – They’re life-sized and slightly fragile, so 10-30 birds is actually kind of a lot of space. We’re hoping to not need to rent a trailer for this, so would love people to help volunteer transport a bird or three. Pickup is in Cape Town CBD. We’ll tell you where we’re camped for delivery. Installation (maybe) – Depending on how many birds are made (ie only if it’s like 15+), we might ask you to help install them! Or else just swing by our AfrikaBird camp if you want to go on the installation missions with us. 🐦🤫