Austin artists create 100-pound, 60-foot Burning Man art piece

The installation, entitled "1000 Hands," is a fabric-based art piece designed to reflect the effects of our "climate reality" amid ongoing environmental impacts due to climate change.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A group of Austin artists are spearheading an approximately 100-pound, 60-foot art installation heading to the 2023 Burning Man festival late next month.

The installation, entitled "1000 Hands," is a fabric-based art piece designed to reflect the effects of our "climate reality" amid ongoing environmental impacts due to climate change.

"Knowing how we were going with materials led us to create the narrative that felt the most pressing to us — something that's on the forefront of what we care about and what we try to put out into the world," said Maria Gotay, the lead producer behind "1000 Hands."

The piece entirely comprises hand-woven and dyed fabrics to reflect the abstract landscapes of the desert, with vibrant colors reflecting the rising sun and mountain ranges in the distance. In the evening, the piece will illuminate courtesy of hundreds of LED lights interwoven into it, the project's tech lead Janitha Karunaratne told KXAN.

"What you see is a fiery, abstract landscape, which has a lot of symbolism with our current climate, political atmosphere, interpersonal lives," said Nicholas DeBruyne, the lead artist behind the piece. "And then at night, it transforms into a tranquil, peaceful scene, which symbolizes our hopes and dreams for a better future."

The creative process behind the honorary artwork began almost one year ago. The project received grant funding, enabling the group to acquire all the necessary materials and put a team of around 20 people together to spearhead its design and execution.

Alongside that core lead team is a group of more than 500 volunteers seeing it to fruition and inspiring the name behind the installation.

"It's been very involved as far as materials sourcing, a lot of hand dyeing and then bringing together our team of around 20, as well as our larger community of over 500 people — 1,000 hands — to actually fabricate it."

Gotay said "1000 Hands" is the only honorarium art piece selected from Austin to be displayed at Burning Man. Come mid-August, the trio will coordinate with the remainder of their project team to deliver 1000 Hands to Nevada's Black Rock Desert for its installation.

In the meantime, there will be a fundraiser on July 29 for the piece, as well as community workshops on Aug. 6 and Aug. 16 where members of the public can help volunteer. Project leads are also fundraising for the piece, which those interested can donate to.

More information on "1000 Hands" is available online.