About the Installation
Playful Again is a large-scale art installation created for Burning
Man 2023 by artist and sculptor Valerie Mallory and illustrator and
concept designer Mikell Haynes.
Inspired by the spirit of childhood, the piece invites us to set
aside the cares of adulthood and rediscover the simple delight of
playing for its own sake.
For additional information, please visit: playfulagain.org.
- Lead Artist
- Valerie Mallory
- Concept Art & Design
- Mikell Haynes
- Structural Engineering
- Rick Damiani
- Lighting
- Dusty Williams
- Lead Builder
- David Meakin
Philosophy
Think back to childhood, when play was the center of our world. Sand
could become a castle, a backyard a faraway kingdom, and whatever we
dreamed up felt completely real. Play was how we learned — how we
discovered what our hands could do, how we connected with one
another, and how we came to understand the world around us.
Sadly, as we grow older, play slips quietly out of our lives. We
forget how to simply be ourselves. We lose our innocence and the
practice of seeing life without filters. Our connection to joy
fades, replaced by the fear of expectations and criticism, and life
becomes weighed down by judgment and consequences.
Playful Again is an invitation to reconnect to the childlike joy and
wonder that comes from the pure act of play, bringing us back to
that magical place.
Whimsical World of Play
Playful Again creates an interactive world of mythical fairy tales,
wonder and play. The piece has cast figures within, a playground
outside, and casts of “humanimals” with horns and wings set across
the scene.
Within the dome ceiling, a “human chandelier” of aerialist
sculptures hang from a hoop, circling in perpetual motion, fully
powered by solar energy.
The walls inside have giant paintings of acrobats and performers. At
night, ornate figures in perpetual motion create dramatic shadow
play throughout the space.
Playful Again at Burning Man 2023
Concept Art
