Interdimensional Enchantment Burning Man 2019

About the artist
Sarah Sekula is an art student studying at California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita, California. She makes work about ethereal feelings and memories, with the hope that others will be able to connect to these feelings that so many of us embody. Magic can come in the form of fairytales, dreams, and experiences. The feeling of "home" is different for each of us. Sarah strives to create a home within her work, welcoming everyone inside her magical mind.


Project description
This environment will be re designed for Burning Man 2019 as a magical, comfortable space for people to relax, and allow themselves to be transported to a magical dimension. The magical tree will nest inside of a wooden room with the dimensions of 7 ft wide x 10 ft long x 8 ft high. People will enter through a small door, hinged on the outside of the room. Inside of the space, there will be a comfy bed-like surface for people to rest on, while gazing up at twinkling LED's in the ceiling. People will be invited to write a few words about how they feel in the space, and string the notes on the tree's branches. 

Project Statement 
When I was younger, I knew fairies and elves coexisted with our tangible, physical world. I had a friend convince me that just past the hedges in her front yard and around the corner, there was a place where trolls lived. It wasn’t only me that knew these things to be true, but the way in which I saw this world was different than anyone else’s. In a further search for fantastical mystery, I asked my brother to dig a hole for me on the top terrace or our backyard: it was to be a portal into an Alice in Wonderland-like world of crazy magic. I believed it would be the entrance to this world. I imagined walking down wooden steps leading to this new dimension. I would fill my head with magical energies. For me, the excitement of these moments linger: I have never outgrown that feeling of a glorious fifth dimension that exists-but like a tip-of-the-tongue-stumble- is frustratingly difficult to articulate with a name or word. And that brings me to the inspiration of this fantastical installation. It began with the memory of a long-ago hike with my dad. He brought me to a withered tree where tiny trinkets were placed inside a hole where a branch used to be. I felt like the collective energy from the people that contributed to it was enough for anyone to believe in Magic. My world was filed by fairytales that spoke to this enchantment. However, parts of it still felt fuzzy to me. As much as I searched, I was never able to find the clear entrance. This project represents a marriage between childhood discoveries and the nourished-embellishment of time. By creating this alluring fantasy, I am opening the door to the world that lives within my mind, and manifesting it into reality.