Ukrainian artists to debut war tribute sculpture at Burning Man

According to The New Voice of Ukraine (NV), citing a press release from the project's creators, an independent Ukrainian installation called HERO ARMOR will appear at this year's Burning Man. It is dedicated to civilian Ukrainians who took up arms and to the memory of artist and soldier Zakhar Zakharov.

NV recounts that in 2025 creator Liza Kormilets brought a photograph of her cousin Zakharov, a 3D artist who volunteered in the first days of the full-scale invasion and did not return, to the festival's Temple. The photo was accompanied by one of his digital works, a futuristic warrior made before the war. Afterwards she decided to turn it into a physical installation.

Her friend Marcel suggested 3D-printing the components, while her father, architect Volodymyr Kormilets, and brother, 3D artist Oleg Kormilets, also helped. The sculpture shows a futuristic defender in blue and yellow and is presented as the inner armor people find when protecting others, coping with loss or living on in memory of loved ones. The team has partnered with the UNBROKEN rehabilitation center in Lviv. NV notes that the festival runs 30 August to 7 September in Nevada's Black Rock Desert under the theme "Axis Mundi".

«The sculpture recreates Zakharov's image of a futuristic defender in blue and yellow, Ukraine's national colors.»— The New Voice of Ukraine

«She was helped in realizing the project by her friend Marcel, who suggested 3D-printing the sculpture's components, as well as by her father, architect Volodymyr Kormilets, and her brother, 3D artist Oleg Kormilets.»— The New Voice of Ukraine

Summary by the Hero Armor team. Original publication: The New Voice of Ukraine.