Every summer since 1990, travelers from far-flung places travel to Black Rock Desert, where thousands of bodies convene to create art, light things on fire, and build communities in accordance with the Burning Man festival’s key principles. Throughout the years, the tradition has been known to lend itself to captivating images, and this year’s edition is no different.
In a recent interview with SF Gate, NK Guy, a photographer who spent the last sixteen years documenting the event, acknowledged that “the art that was the real draw” (aside from the parties, of course). “The canvas–that vast desert backdrop–is always the same,” he explained, “but every iteration of the event has its own tone or flavor, depending on what’s out there.”
Burning Man has earned a reputation for drawing a crowd of young, party-loving Silicon Valley denizens, who happily document the effigies they later burn at the festival’s end. But what’s often overlooked are the touching moments between family and friends. In the image above, for instance, staff photographer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal Chase Stevens shared an image of five-year-old Sagan Bocskor, who set his installation aflame on Thursday evening.
Below, artnet News has brought together some of the best images to emerge from the event on social media this week.