Pipes of Passion

It is a mobile two story maze through the reproductive organs leading to an enclosed snuggle/play space wherein the participant’s own reproductive organs can be explored. The art car features a giant realistic three-dimensional yoni that must be passed through at the entrance, and utilizes recycled playground tubes to create tubular passageways (representing fallopian tubes, etc.) that connect as a maze various stages to each other as well as the central snuggle/play room that provides a womb-like refuge from the elements as a reward for finding the correct passageway through the tubes. Stage platforms are added to the front and sides to widen the participant area and provide side stages and the front access area; these are removable in order to return the vehicle to street-legal status so that it can drive to and from the event. Tubular passageways connect the stages to each other as well as to the second-story platforms and the central snuggle/play room, in a three-dimensional maze-like configuration. Tubes and stages are transformed into giant reproductive organs, such as the 12-foot yoni that one enters at the front in order to access the rest of the vehicle. When I thought about what specifically my art car should be, I thought about what I have enjoyed the most over my years at Burning Man, and tried to come up with something that combined the best of my Burning Man experiences. Of primary importance was making the art car interactive, an enjoyable experience for other burners to play with while being transported across the playa. One of my fondest memories was the huge Flight to Mars maze several years ago, and I wanted to create a moving three dimensional maze using old McDonald’s playground tubes. I also wanted to provide a protected snuggle space that was free of the dust, and so decided to incorporate a hidden secret room in the center of the maze that would be the “prize” for finding the correct passage through the tubes; this room would be filled with cushions and pillows and opportunities for participants to interact with each other. From this basic concept, this year’s theme of Rites of Passage guided the further development of our project. Besides suggesting the name for our vehicle, “Pipes of Passage”, we realized that one of the most important moments of passage for us all was of course the rite of passage from fetus to independently living organism, the passage through the birth canal. This lead us to want to feature a giant realistic three-dimensional yoni that must be passed through, and the playground tubes naturally lent themselves to becoming fallopian tubes and other organs that must be traversed, while the central hidden room became a womb-like refuge from the elements.