interactive architectural space, Nowhere 2013

wood, fabric, rope, water, soluble paper, singing bowls

lead artist: design and construction

The Temple of Dissolution was a Burning Man-style temple, built for the European regional event, the Nowhere festival. The Temple of Dissolution celebrated the liminal anniversary of ten years of the Nowhere Festival, by gifting a temple experience to this community in transition.The design of the structure and its practice were on a Nowhere scale and with Nowhere’s limitations of being a “non-burn” Burn event in mind.

Design wise, the temple was a very simplified version of a basic Oriental temple, with the traditional Yin-Yang shape and the octagon of elements that surround it. In the middle of the Temple, a water dish provided participants the opportunity to dissolve memories, thoughts, beliefs, or whatever they want to let go off. They could write these things on soluble paper and ink, that were placed inside of the pond and dissolved. To speed up this dissolution, the centre of the Temple was open to sunlight, that evaporated the water inside. On a bi-daily basis, water was be added to the pond to facilitate a new day of letting-go.