Our First Burning Man: Dust Storms, a Wrecked Power Station, and a Robot That Stayed Standing

We went to Black Rock City as first-time artists, and we knew it would be a challenge. We did not know how many different ways the playa would test us. This is the story of that week, told by the team.

Hero Armor is a 2-meter robot guardian standing on an illuminated octagonal podium. Liza Kormilets created it in memory of her cousin, the 3D artist Zakhar Zakharov, and it is based on a character he made. An international team helped her build it. Burning Man was the first place it stood in front of an audience.

The dust storm and the power station

The weather gave us two days of dust storms. During one of them, a vehicle drove into our power station. That station also served as the crate we used to transport the art. The frame was destroyed, the solar panel was destroyed, and the piece lost its lighting.

We caught it in time. We got a backup generator running and brought the electrics back to life, so Hero Armor was lit again.

What we could not fix on playa was the sound. With everything going on, we never got the sound system working, so the robot did not get to speak in the desert. That is the one thing we still carry as unfinished business. We have since fixed everything for our later exhibitions, and next year he will definitely be talking.

Small surprises around the robot

Some of what happened we could never have planned.

Someone locked a bike to the robot's leg. We heard that another participant cut the lock off, out of respect for the piece.

Someone also placed a military aviation sticker on his chest. It was not planned, but it matched the colors of the piece. We took it as a gesture of recognition for our hero as a defender, placed out of respect rather than as vandalism. We could not have removed it without peeling the paint anyway, so it stayed for the rest of the event.

A couple of the robot's fingers were damaged. That showed us exactly where to reinforce them next time.

What the playa did to the podium

One of our favorite surprises was how the aluminum podium came out of it all. After the dust storms and the rain, the playa reacted with the aluminum and left soft, natural stains and patterns across the surface.

We love how it looks now. The playa really left its mark on the piece. And in the end, the robot made it through all the weather in one piece.

The people who helped

The reaction from visitors was the part we remember most. So many people were genuinely moved by the story behind Hero Armor, and we received a great deal of support, respect and gratitude.

We also want to thank the Burning Man teams. Our manager, Shing, communicated clearly and helped us find a meaningful placement near the Temple, where the story of our project began. That meant a lot to us. The anchors were installed quickly, and the crews helped dig trenches for our cables. On the last day, Artery gave us extra lumber so we could rebuild our transport crate. That really saved us. We also enjoyed the artist meetup and met some wonderful people there.

Three extra days

Rebuilding the crate meant staying on playa three extra days. Another dust storm caught us on the last one.

But despite all the adventures and challenges, we made it, and so did the art.

A Ukrainian journalist who works officially with the Burning Man team filmed Hero Armor from a drone on playa. We hope that footage will help the piece reach more people.

After the desert

Hero Armor has kept traveling since Burning Man. In September we showed it at the Reno Tahoe International Art Show, on the Sculpture Walk (September 17–20). At Maker Faire Bay Area (September 25–27), the organizers gave us two Editor's Choice ribbons for the piece and its unique story. Then we took it to Burning Man Decompression at The Loom in Oakland.

We followed the advice Shing gave us about exhibitions and other connections, and two of these shows came from it.

There is still work ahead: reinforced fingers, a voice for the robot, and more places where his story can be told. We are looking for new exhibitions and contacts to keep sharing it. If you know of one, we would love to hear from you.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by, helped, cut a lock, or simply stood there for a while and listened.