I always enjoyed Flaming Lotus' work, since I hit the Hand of God on the Playa back in 2003. And then there was the Angel of Apocalypse last year - awesome. I still remember the Friday night party with the Space Cowboys soundsystem (the mighty Unimog), but this year they really moved forward, and created the incredible Serpent Mother.
An art piece bigger than a parking lot, the Serpent Mother is an articulated fire-animated pyro-mechanic art installation that will go on a world tour after Burning Man, from the US to Australia, then Europe and more. The art piece really deserves some fame, and FLG deserve some spotlights on their amazing artwork, too. Bravo, FLG!
I do have some cool pictures of the installation, like the one above and more pictures on Flickr.com, with many shots not only of the Serpent Mother, but also of the people partying at the art installation site. Click on the image below to see more pictures of these cool burners!
People is always good, but I believe no picture can describe how majestic the metal-fire art piece is, an installation to be experienced first-hand (of God...). So maybe a video can help a little more.
Flaming Lotus Girls were actually performing a number of shows each night at the Serpent Mother, starting with fireworks and other cool pyrotechnics, then opening up to the crowd to get inside the hot embrace of the big FLG snake.
This video has been shot immediately after the end of the fireworks show, so you can (kind of) experience walking inside the Serpent Mother. Enjoy.
This other video has been shot on the Friday before the burn, with the sound of Space Cowboys as a grand soundtrack for such epic scenery. People chill within the Serpent, and dances nearby, by Space Cowboys' Unimog.
Do you want more Space Cowboys? Here we go, this is one of the movies I posted on YouTube from that night - the description I added to this video goes like this: Space Cowboys rock the house. Flaming Lotus Girls rock the scene. The Serpent Mother is the perfect ultimate rave location for the Space Cowboys' Friday night classic: the Unimog big party of the Playa!!!
It's all true, folks! Here we go with the nasty and trancey Unimog beats!
Flaming Lotus Girrrls play hard, but work hard too. I approached FLG after the big crowd left Black Rock City on Monday after the burn, just to say hi! before driving back home.
Last year I spent an additional week or so to tear down the Hammock Hangout, so I felt happy when FLG accepted my help to pack up the Serpent Mother. Funny, I said "I can help you for a couple of hours", then I ended up spending the next three days with FLG !!!
Packing the art installation took less than two days, after which we went for another Burning Man veteran classic: Trego desert hot springs! After that I spent another day with FLG dusting off in a Reno casino, drinking poolside margaritas! The FLG posse works hard, then plays hard again... love them!
I like these pictures at Trego, the Black Rock City desert hot springs - bathing at night, waiting for the sunrise, and cooking eggs in the hottest spot of the spring (the water was actually boiling in the spot!) - follow this link to see more Trego and FLG chill pictures.
Here is the last Flaming Lotus Girl video for this post, shot while packing the Serpent Mother in the middle of a dust storm. Check out how close objects disappear into the dust white-out, and how big the container truck is!!!
For more info on Flaming Lotus Girls and the group's artwork, visit their site at www.flaminglotus.com, the Flaming Lotus Girls blog, or the website created to support the Serpent Mother world tour that started right at Burning Man 2006, of course!
Final note: after sharing so much with the FLG gang this year (we also met in San Francisco to discuss potential art projects in Europe) I can now say that I'm a Flaming Lotus Girl too!
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