Moi, a truly divine swine, is a 6ft metal sculpture of Miss Piggy on a grand stage, in the form of a 3 tiered heart shaped wedding cake. Miss Piggy, a model of a being that mastered self love, proudly stands with her arms outstretched. She invites others to come and receive her love. Miss Piggy is glamorous, fun, over the top, loves passionately, and speaks up for what she wants in life. She exemplifies self-love, and Moi is about loving who you are and truly celebrating Moi.

Moi is inspired by my mother, who passed away suddenly in the beginning of October 2022. My mother loved Miss Piggy! She had a vast Miss Piggy memorabilia and doll collection.

One of my fondest memories is of the Halloween my mother took off work to come and see me at school. She showed up in a Miss Piggy costume for Halloween that she made herself. The picture of the two of us sits on my desk and is one of my most treasured possessions.

My mama was great at giving love, and raised us to be loving and giving people. She loved everyone so endlessly, but she struggled to love herself. She admired Miss Piggy's confidence and ability to know and love herself.

During my healing process, my memories of my mother's love for Miss Piggy inspired the concept of Moi. Self-love is something many people struggle with, myself and my mother included. The picture of my mama as Miss Piggy, standing with me, reminds me to love myself more.

I hope that Moi will resonate the message of self-love to all that find her in the dust of deep playa. When you love yourself, you have the capacity to send more love out into the world.

My dedicated crew and I are deep in the process of building Moi. We currently have all 8 of the heart shapes formed for the stage, having bent them by hand with a small pipe bender. The Internal structure of connecting those hearts has begun. I created a template for her face made with spray foam and duct tape to help with shaping during fabrication. Her metal snout and top of her face is almost perfectly done, which is essential because (of course) it all starts with the snout!

The project has been self funded so far, but using as much recycled metal from previous projects for the hearts and Miss Piggy, which has helped keep costs down.

At this point, I need funding for additional metal as well as other items, which are outlined below:

- Flat bar metal and angle iron for the structural parts of the cake stage

- Corten sheet metal for the "frosting" on the stage and her body/dress

- Additional lighting, including solar around the perimeter

- Transportation to and from the playa

- Shop and crew costs, including storage and shop space and fabrication time

We've requested the Moi be placed by the trash fence, where there already plans for serving bacon at sunrise! (Step aside, Daft Punk! )

Imagine finding Moi glowing in the vastness of deep playa, welcomed by her outstretched arms. Behind all the glamour and humor, Miss Piggy reminds us to take up space, ask for what we want, and love without apology. And I hope that Moi will resonate with the message of self-love for all who find her.

Your support will help bring Moi to the playa, where I hope she inspires cascades of love moving outward, one person at a time.

Thank you for considering my request, and for being part of this project of Love! XO Katy

About the Artist:

Katy Boynton is a Bay Area artist specializing in large-scale metal sculpture. Her work has been featured at Burning Man, Life is Beautiful, BottleRock, Sunset Electronic Picnic, and Ghost Ship, as well as in public installations in San Francisco, Fremont, Las Vegas, Rohnert Park, and Arlington, Texas. Since debuting her first Burning Man sculpture, Heartfullness, in 2012, Katy has created numerous large-scale public artworks exploring healing, connection, and transformation. In addition to her own work, she has contributed her time, skills, and tools to over 14 projects over the years. Moi will be her second project to debut on the playa since 2012.