On 23 August 2025, at the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert (Nevada, USA), a powerful dust storm with wind speeds exceeding 80 km/h destroyed one of the event’s central art installations – the Ukrainian project Black Cloud.
The massive structure, weighing about 8 tonnes and created by a Ukrainian team, was intended to symbolise global threats and challenges of the modern world. However, the elements took no pity on the artwork – the installation lasted only 15 minutes before hurricane-force winds literally tore it apart from within.
The project’s producer, Vitaliy Deyneha, commented on the incident in a post on his Facebook page:
“I was woken up sometime after 5:30 p.m. Before I was even awake, I realised that something very bad was happening. There are sudden changes in weather and strong winds here. But this one was stronger and more sudden than usual. Much stronger. Part of the team was literally flying through the air, trying to save the newly built camp. But the storm tore it apart as it pleased. When everything that could be blown away had been dismantled by us or the wind, my colleague and I jumped into the car and, in conditions of literally zero visibility, drove to the place where installation and part of the construction team were. Despite the fact that on paper and according to calculations it should have withstood even such a storm, it turned out differently. It withstood the wind for the first 15 minutes, and then it was torn apart in the middle, the storm flew into it and destroyed it completely. The last time I had this feeling was exactly three and a half years ago, when I woke up to the first explosions and sirens and realised that circumstances beyond my control had decided to make changes to my life.”
Despite the destruction, the team is not giving up on the project. The producer noted the extraordinary composure and unity of the team. He does not yet know what decisions will be taken, but the dates for the European tour of Black Cloud have already been booked and have not yet been cancelled.
Many Ukrainians on social media have expressed the view that, despite the damage to the project, this may be a good sign for Ukraine, as the installation’s concept reflected the approach of a potential Third World War.
This year’s Burning Man festival has been marked by challenging weather conditions: organisers have warned visitors about dust storms, strong gusts of wind and the risk of flooding in the region.