Another planet: How I visited Burning Man
TEN YEARS AGO I HAVE SEEN PHOTOS WITH FOREIGN PLANTS: the sun rises from white dust and people in suits, lost in infinite space. I then thought: "Lord, how lucky the photographer! This is some incredible world, another planet." I didn’t even know that it was a festival and even more so how to get there. Three years ago I learned more about Burning Man and decided that going there and seeing everything with my own eyes is my new crazy dream. Making a visa for a trip to America, I said that I was going to a Burning Man, but in fact I did not go anywhere then.
My second summer in New York was coming to an end, and I accidentally saw in a girl's instagram a photo with the caption "It will be dusty soon." I wrote to her and found out that she was going to Burning Man to the camp to build an art object. I tried to buy a ticket on sale for $ 390. Nothing happened, and I decided that, apparently, no luck. A week before the start of Burning Man, after talking with a friend, I decided to try again and bought a ticket on Craigslist for $ 600 (which is simply unbelievable, because tickets cost $ 900-1200). Until the last moment did not believe that the ticket is real.
After all the fuss, I still found myself on the other side of the world, in the desert under the scorching sun. I thought that only young people go to Burning Man, but no - there were a 20-year-old girl who has been to the festival for thirteen years, and an 80-year-old woman who came for the first time. It is almost “Futurama”: there is no age, nationality or religion - there are only smiles and incredible costumes.
You can live at the festival in different ways. You can rent an RV - a giant bus for 3-10 thousand dollars with a toilet, shower and air conditioning. If you are traveling with a child or do not like to live in tents, then this improvised hotel on wheels is a cool option. There were guys who lived in tents alone, but this is not very comfortable: it is very hot in the desert during the day and very cold at night. We lived together in a hexaurt that we collected. In the camp there was an awning, a kitchen and a shower, for which it was necessary to bring water.
Each camp is responsible for something. For example, there was a friendly Russian camp, which made pilaf. There are camps that are responsible for art cars, clubs, bars and the like. You can come alone and come up with an activity to your liking - for example, after a hot day, I met a man who annually delivers a cold beer on Playa. You can also be a volunteer - for example, pouring coffee or hanging lights. And when you build an art object, an art car can easily drive up to you, the passengers of which will feed and water you for free. The only thing that is sold on the territory of Burning Man is coffee and ice; everything else can be obtained for free, because there is no money in the territory. There is a principle of giving gifts: you bring something with you, give it away for free in exchange for other things.
The main means of transportation on the territory is a bicycle: we bought them ourselves at Wallmart, and then we just threw them away, because on Burning Man there is sand all around and everything breaks because of it. If you are tired of pedaling, you can jump on an art car and go, dancing merrily, to your next destination. If you are entertained differently, you can move around on foot. I heard that at Burning Man, although rarely, there are deaths - for example, an art car may hit those who fall asleep in the desert. To prevent this from happening, at night everyone hangs luminous garlands on themselves and on a bicycle. Upon returning home, I woke up a couple of times at night: it seemed to me that I was lying on Playa and now the art-car rushing past me will crush me.
At the beginning of the festival, everyone is handed out printed instructions, where it is written that you need to carry water with you all the time, that it is very difficult to be in the desert, that you need sunglasses. One of the rules of Burning Man is to carry with you everything that you may need (water, warm clothes, goggles or a dust mask) and you should not count on anyone. At first we all diligently observed him, but in the end we relaxed. Yes, around poles of biting dust, scorching heat and night cold, but you get used to everything - you squint, of course, but you can live. No incredible effort for survival, it seemed to me, there is no need to apply. Perhaps just because I went hiking since childhood.
There is a rule on Burning Man: do not litter and do not leave anything behind on Playa. When you are going to camp, you literally raise every speck and every hair. It turns out that there was nothing in the desert, then a giant city for 70-75 thousand people came for a week, and nothing left after it - this, of course, is very cool. It is a pity that this is not common anywhere else.
We bought a lot of healthy products: vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals. Camping conditions do not mean that you definitely need to buy instant soups. If you want healthy food, everything is in your hands. We slept on occasion - often in the very heat or, for example, from ten in the evening to three in the morning to meet the crazy dawns. But I often thought that there was no time to sleep at all and rushed to photograph on Playa into the thick of it. But even if you are not sleeping at all, you will have time to see, at best, a tenth of what is happening - too much happens at once.
Many prepare costumes for six months or a year. Because of the spontaneous charges, I was the most unprepared - the idea that I would need a fur coat in California did not even enter my head. When choosing an outfit, I would advise you to think about how things will look when dust sits on them. I can say with confidence that you should not choose black, but brilliant, white, bright looks cool. Therefore, for those who come to the festival, a strange suit usually flickers under a sand-colored fur coat, and someone just wears fur coats on a naked body. In the afternoon everyone goes half-naked, and in the evening the masquerade extravaganza begins: hats, fur coats, flowers, masks, luminous garlands. Of course, when you look at it from the side, on a sober head, a lot of things look too theatrical. But it is still impressive.
In general, at Burning Man, you just need to trust the moment - exactly what you need is happening around. Since I did not have suitable suits, and my friends had fifteen outfits with me, I also wanted something special. And I found second-hand! It works on the same principle as everything on Burning Man: you leave something and take something for yourself. So I found a gorgeous dress, which then also gave.
On Burning Man everyone will find everything he wants. If you want to do yoga, run in the morning, raise children, go to lectures on nuclear physics, you will find it. If you want to listen to music and dance, everything is for you. If you want to go to the bars, arrange cycling rides naked, bathe in common souls - you will find this too. Orgy camps are at your service too, drugs please. In search of alcoholic adventures, you simply come to one of the free bars with your mug with a passport scan pasted on top. Despite the madness, it is still America, and without an ID nothing is poured to you, even if you are over 80. And you can just be alone and roll away into the desert, drive around Playa in a circle where nobody touches you - only you and a desert that seems endless. I don’t know what kind of person you need to be in order to not like Burning Man.
There is a Time to burn application, where you can see when what will happen, where and when the DJ plays, where exactly the art objects are located, but I have never used it. There is no strict schedule on Burning Man - you just leave the camp, and everything happens by itself: you never know what will happen in a minute. This is some kind of a concentrated version of life that is several days long - especially with regard to relationships. They say that it’s not very good to go to the festival with a couple: everyone smiles at you and makes eyes - it’s not so easy to be faithful. Although in our camp there were those who came in couples, and everything was fine with them.
Despite the fact that Black Rock City is a utopian city, the Internet is here (for example, in the construction of Artery), so you can post a photo on Instagram and write to your mother that you are alive. But at the festival, so much is happening that you don’t care about virtual reality at all, even if you are an Internet maniac. It seems to me silly to spend two hours chatting with someone online when life rages around you.
One of my most vivid impressions is the burning of the Temple. In it, people leave their memories, posters and letters about deceased loved ones. When it was burned, people really cried. For me it was strange: if you are so bad, how could you come to the festival? I perceived Burning Man only as fun, but everyone treats it differently - for someone it is like a reboot of life. You find yourself in a completely different world, on another planet. I had nothing to burn, I did not leave anything in the Temple. But the action itself, of course, struck me.
One of the goals of my trip was to shoot a stunning photo essay. But during these two weeks I practically didn’t take anything off: at first I was very afraid that the camera would break down from dust, and then life began to turn in such a rapid sandy hurricane that it was not up to the camera, and I stopped thinking about it at all. And on the very last morning of the festival, a dust storm arose at dawn and the very picture arose, for the sake of which I was riding Burning Man. The one I saw ten years ago in someone else's photos.
Incredible colors, objects drowning in dust, costumed characters appearing from the void and immediately disappearing back. I jumped on the bike after a day without sleep, without a mask, without glasses, in the cold and wind - I just rushed off with the camera at the ready, taking off without any packages and protection on the camera, in the middle of a dust storm. And I realized that for the sake of this and went here. Not for the sake of electronic music, not for the sake of new friends, not for merry parties and benevolent hugs, not to become part of the festival, building an art object, but for the sake of it. For the sake of dreams. At some point, the bike was stuck due to dust. Where I am? What to do? I can not see anything. The dust dissipated a little, and it turned out that some guys nearby were building a fire - just like in the fairy tale "Twelve Months". They hugged me, gave me tea - miracles always happen on Burning Man.
There was a gigantic queue to enter and leave Burning Man: we arrived almost a week before it began and stood for about four hours. People who come on the opening day can stand there a day and a half. Back we proturbed in the queue for eleven hours, despite the fact that five kilometers to go. But Burning Man does not end when you are in the queue. Someone knocks you on the window, asks: "Do you want a minion?" - and gives you a sliced melon. The whole line continues to live according to the principles of Burning Man, when you want to give everything away, entertain everyone, give presents, dance and smile. It seems to me that in Russia it is already customary to do this. For me, this was not something surprising, but someone will surely seem incredible.
When you return to reality, you probably have to pause first. Do not commit drastic actions. Think about the experience in silence. This is a very strong and vivid experience, to which everyone reacts differently. For those who are going to Burning Man, I would advise preparing for the festival more thoroughly than I do - because suddenly it turns out that we need a fur coat, luminous garlands and three times more money than originally planned. I would advise to relax, disconnect from life and not make any plans.
I don’t know if I’ll go to Burning Man next year. Maybe I need a pause to realize everything. I did everything I wanted at the festival - but what I didn’t try was probably not necessary for me.
Photo: Zhenya Filatova
