Lighting design for the Temple of the Moon, the Burning Man 2026 Temple. The structure was inspired by the Queen of the Night, a desert cactus that blooms once a year under moonlight and wilts by dawn. 220 feet across, the Temple was made of five curved arms, twenty timber petals and eight gates marking the phases of the moon. It burned on the festival’s final night.

The lighting concept was based on soft, enveloping light that reveals the structure without overpowering it. Wherever possible we used reflected light, which is how all the petals surrounding the Temple were lit. Inside, we hung decorative chandeliers made of tumbleweeds. The stamens, the Temple’s highest point, were crowned with custom fixtures inspired by the plant world. Another element we designed ourselves were moons made of milled, edge-lit acrylic.

Lead Artist: James Gwertzman
Architect: Annie Locke Scherer
Project Managers: Erin O’Brien & Daphne Faulkner
Build Lead: Tim Priest
Pre-Build Co-Leads: Sarah McManus & Eric ‘Boots’ Herrmann
Playa Co-Leads: Peter Garber & Bobby Bowie
Engineering: Rbhu
Lighting design / Lighting lead: Kama Wybieralska
Lighting co-lead: Dania Morris