You Won’t Believe What People Were Doing and Wearing At Burning Man

Rising from the Shell

Chris Carnabuci’s Mariposita feels like it landed straight out of a myth, yet it sits boldly in the dust of Black Rock City. Built from 3,000 layers of CNC-cut wood, the 20-foot piece captures a woman pushing out of her shell, like she’s caught mid-transformation. The stacked wood gives her a textured skin, almost as if she’s carved from the desert itself.

There’s something magnetic about her posture, crouched yet rising, one hand lifted in greeting or warning. The lines blur between sculpture and symbol, leaving you to guess whether she’s breaking free, holding on, or simply stretching after a long nap.

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