Snail Mayhem Art Collective
He’s a mean fucker… but he’ll burn…
With this interactive social art, Burners draw a gigantic spiral-graph design continually onto the playa, without any lasting impact to the environment. Based on community efforts for change, the snail art reminds us of the path of social change, begs us to consider our contributions, and to work together.
Upcoing in 2024, please donate to support our initiative to build and transport units for the Solar Library which will help Artists reduce their carbon footprint through battery recharge stations around the Playa. Snail Mayhem Art Collective will help by manufacturing several of these units, make your charitable contribution today!
SMAC 's Philosophy
Human beings and social change are not special because it stays the same, but paradoxically these things are special because they change over time as we become more of who we are as a human collective. Just as spirals and fractals collapse onto each other, the simple genetic makeup of humans collapses eventually onto the never ending spiral of inheritance from those who came before. This interactive playa art, an ever changing spirograph design through social art brings the participation, expression, and the importance of respecting future generations by only leaving our trace in the dust. Tugging at our sense of nostalgia, enthralled in curiosity for spirograph art, is made possible only by community participation. This human art displays the ever forgiving cycles of creation and destruction, change, impermanence, and silence. Since before my first burn, I have always loved the idea of folks getting together for art, not knowing what they are getting into, and still creating anyway.
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Updates From The Snail in 2023
Before the build begins
First night of the build, nothing to see here
First night setting up, nothing ready yet
The snail cart almost finished
The snail cart almost finished
The snail arrived by special delivery
Ah! The snail arrived by special delivery, thanks to Alex and Charlie for making the pit stop
Alex hard at work
The snail cart is almost finished, and the center post is in place, ready to put on lights
Lit up Snail Cart
Finally finished and lit up, the snail car is ready to roll
The artist with the art
After a full day of designs!
Finally Done!
Lit up at about 2:30am Sunday August 27th, the perimeter fence is set up and lit, ready to go.
An actual burning man artist inthe wild
Caught with his pleasant, relaxed demeanor, this is an actual burning man artist caught in their wild environment
First designs made on the playa
First designs made on the playa with the Man in the background
Giving the first push with the man in the background
Man in the background, first push of the snail design
Dusty days for the snail
Dusty days, and the snail still goes around
Thank you Solar Library!
Thanks to the Solar Library, we used the sun to power the lights for the art
Awakening all set up
Awakening all set up with the snail cart way off in the distance
Winds refreshing the playa canvas
Winds refreshing the playa canvas!
Protecting against MOOP
Some of the art began to deteriorate so it was locked down to prevent further MOOP from spreading on the playa
Almost Finished!
Ready for finishing touches and testing, the snail is almost finished
After the rains
After the rains, tear down begins
Blue sky’s ahead
Blue sky’s ahead, and tear down is almost comlpete
New friends came to help with tear down
Never thought we’d have the parkas on during the day, but it was chilly after the rains
Almost all torn down
Not much left after a long week and a few rain drops, almost ready to have the final moop inspection
Leaving nothing behind but beauty
Leaving the playa in it’s natural state, beautiful and full of wonder