The Cosmic Carousel By Artist Michael Walsh at Burning Man 2025 – Photo by Michael Walsh.
Architecture. American artist Michael Walsh returned to Burning Man with the Cosmic Carousel—a dazzling kinetic sculpture that seemed to hover between art, architecture, and engineering. Part futuristic spacecraft, part desert playground, the installation came alive only when people gathered, lifted, and spun it together, making participation the heartbeat of the work.
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Photo by Michael Walsh.
Suspended delicately on a single point, the structure radiated presence across the Playa. Its mirror-polished aircraft-grade aluminium surface reflected the desert landscape and the spirit of its participants. Measuring 23 feet wide, 18 feet long, and 17 feet tall, the Cosmic Carousel features integrated RGB LED lighting and a central conversation pit, encouraging connection, dialogue, and discovery.
Photo by Galen Melchert.
“Cosmic Carousel is a human-made object for an alien world,” Walsh told Archipanic. “It only works when people work together—it’s kinetic, it’s communal, it’s alive.” True to that vision, there were no switches or ladders. Instead, Burners had to collaborate, literally lifting one another up, in order to climb and experience the piece. The result was as much about teamwork and trust as it was about shimmering surfaces and spinning light.
Photo by Galen Melchert.
Drawing inspiration from Futurism and Modernist design, the work reimagined sculpture as a participatory event. By day, it spun like a radiant mirror under the desert sun. By night, LEDs pulsed in sync with music, evoking the feeling of a sci-fi merry-go-round. It was both a spectacle and a social experiment, a reminder that cutting-edge art and architecture are sometimes powered not by machines, but by people.
Photo by Galen Melchert.
The project was realised by a dedicated team of volunteers, underscoring Burning Man’s collaborative ethos. For Walsh, known for pioneering metal sculptures that fuse industrial precision with digital processes, the Cosmic Carousel represents the next step in exploring design as both an object and an experience.
Photo by Galen Melchert.
Photos by Micheal Walsh and Galen Melchert – Courtesy of the artist.
Photo by Galen Melchert.
