A section of the Monster art work. Photo / Kitsune Collective
A section of the Monster art work. Photo / Kitsune Collective
A New Zealand artist is the first ever Wellingtonian to build an art installation for the famous Burning Man festival, becoming the third-ever New Zealand artist to do so since the festival’s inception in 1986.
Erin Jaeger-Freeborn forms one half of the artist group Kitsune Collective – the other half is Canadian architect and artist Carly Moore.
The pair have been approved for an honoraria grant to take their work Monster to Burning Man – a festival in the Nevada desert which has become one of the most famed in the world.
Jaeger-Freeborn told the Herald she is “really excited” at the opportunity to showcase her work alongside that of dozens of other international artists.
Wellington artist Erin Jaeger-Freeborn. Photo / Supplied
“Some of the artists we’ll be working alongside are building the temple which is a half-a-million-dollar project – there are artists from around the world, it’s a unique experience.”
The festival will see around 65,000 people flock to the harsh desert environment for a week of music, art and events. The festival is one of the most popular in the world and focuses heavily on sustainability and community.
The two women work in tandem despite living on opposite sides of the world, with Moore building the architectural elements of their work, and Jaeger-Freeborn focusing on the fabric elements.
Their work, entitled Monster, encourages attendees of the festival or “burners” to play with the art installation by sitting on the large seesaw which juts out from a plinth. On the plinth, will sit the Monster.
“The burner can sit on the seesaw and as they go up and down, so as the audience moves the seesaw in front of them - Monster will appear to dance with them as they’re moving,” Jaeger-Freeborn said.
Conceptual art of the Monster. Photo / Kitsune Collective
“We wanted to play with that idea of childlike wonder and being these big adult kids and have a really personal and individual experience with the art as well as having the wider enjoyment where people can see the movement as well.”
As part of Burning Man’s no-waste ideology the Monster is made up from leftover fabric, all sustainably sourced by Jaeger-Freeborn.
She went around charity shops in the Wellington region and asked for any fabric which could not be sold to build the pillowy “alien” form that will make up the Monster.
While she and her co-creator Moore are both artists in their own time, Jaeger-Freeborn said there was a lot more to this project than previous ones she has worked on
Canadian artist Carly Moore. Photo / Supplied
“It’s definitely a much larger scale - the complexities that not only the sculpture itself but the requirements of Burning Man has – dust storms, 100km winds and lighting things continuously for ten days – it’s a lot more refined of a process.”
With the work already being built on opposite sides of the world, the pair have almost reached their fundraising goal – while the grant from Burning Man pays a portion of costs, the others must be raised by the group themselves.
Jaeger-Freeborn is grateful for all the assistance she has received from the community – and for the hard work of her partner Moore.
“We’re about halfway through our personal fundraising goal ... a huge thank you to everyone who has helped with fundraising and their incredible skills and Carly has been incredible as the architect of our engineering.”
The group is the third ever from New Zealand to be approved for a grant. They follow in the footsteps of Auckland creator Andrew Benson who sculpted a giant weta out of metal to show at Burning Man in 206.
The sculpture was then transported back to Aotearoa to be shown at New Zealand’s version of Burning Man Kiwiburn.
Last year Bibi Bliekendaal, a New Zealand artist based in Amsterdam, was also approved for a grant for her artwork Tinkledrum which allowed people to walk inside and collaboratively create music “for play, for protest, for peace”.
Vita Molyneux is a Wellington-based journalist who covers breaking news and stories from the capital. She has been a journalist since 2018 and joined the Herald in 2021.
