The Mutant Vehicles of Burning Man

Scott London, a longtime burner and photographer (see his 2014 photo book, Burning Man: Art on Fire), produced an amazing set of portraits of art cars — "mutant vehicles" — from this year's event, including Maria Del Camino (previously), a flying El Camino/tank hybrid that lives in Liminal Labs, where I camp with its creator, the amazing Bruce Tomb.


CNN: How do you get around to take photos and are you able to photograph all the mutant vehicles each year?

London: Sometimes I get rides on art cars. But if you ride on someone else's art car, you're stuck with where they want to take you, and often that's at 5 miles per hour — the Burning Man speed limit — which is very slow. I can ride faster on my bike. I have a janky old bike.

I'll be on my bike, and chase after them. I'll talk to the artists while they're driving and exchange a few words. 'What is the name of this art car? What is this? How many years have you been here?'

As Burning Man becomes more popular, the distances become increasingly vast. Now it's a 5-mile stretch. I only see a fraction of the hundreds of cars in passing. It's impossible to see everything.

Burning Man's Mutant Vehicles eat dust…and people?
[Stephy Chung/CNN]