In the Tibetan Buddhist spirit the lung-ta, at the end of their use, are burned – an operation that connects with the spirit of the Burning Man community, of which Burningmax has been part for over 18 years (see bio).

In this sense, as initially foreseen, the installation for Il Cadavere Squisito # 21 would have been completed at the next edition of the initiative with a “burn performance”. The lung-ta would have been burned in a brazier available in the external spaces of the gallery, always in full respect of the Tibetan tradition, that is, carrying out the operation with intention, and reciting auspicious mantras.

The future “burn performance” would have been supported by the display of a video (or slideshow of photographic images) documenting the installation created in October. A votive altar would have been associated with the monitor documenting the installation which, on Sunday, would have contained the ashes of the prayer flags burned the day before.

After a burn test of the masks, however, it was decided to abandon the “burn performance“. Unlike the Tibetan lung-ta in light cotton, medical masks are produced with plastic materials which, when burned, produce a toxic black smoke that is harmful to the environment, as well as to the audience and the performer.Alternatively, the installation could have been transformed into a street art intervention.

After further reflections, Burningmax has instead decided to propose the installation / memorial again at the next edition of Nowhere, the official gathering of the European Burning Man community, which has been held every summer for the last 18 years in the desert of Los Monegros, northern Spain, near Zaragoza – with the exclusion of last two years, when the gathering was canceled due to the covid pandemic. With Burningmax being closely linked to the Spanish community burner event, as well as the Burning Man Temples tradition, the choice to bring the blessings of lung-ta to the European burner community was obvious.

Among other things, unfortunately, many of the members of the burner community have suffered grief due to the covid pandemic, so the memorial intervention will probably be much appreciated. Not only that, we remind you that LUNG-TA was also created thanks to the financial support of the festival itself, which supported the project with an “art grant” offered by the Nowhere Art team, the group that coordinates and supports the creative contributions that the participants bring to the festival.

LUNG-TA therefore will be transformed, in summer 2022, from “city art” into “desert temple” – or in any case into a memorial contribution to be integrated into the Temple of Nowhere 2022, if its creation will be proposed by a group of participants. Should the construction of a temple at Nowhere 2022 won’t be planned, Burningmax will carry out a “stand-alone” intervention for the desert festival in any case, by creating a sort of “meta-temple” / memorial which, in the respect of the burner tradition, will offer participants a place for spiritual connection, contemplation, reflection and memory, as well as a “sacred” space for the participants to rest, yoga, gather for rituals, weddings and other spiritual and human connections.

Find more info about the “Burning Man Temples” tradition and culture at the official Burning Man Temple Guardians website.

For the curious who want a preview of the work carried out by Burningmax, individually or collectively, on Burning Man temples created for Nowhere (Spain) and Black Rock City (Nevada, USA), here are some images to temporarily occupy the space of the photo gallery. Once the installation is completed, a photo gallery dedicated to the Lung-ta Temple will be published here.