The Lonely Reef Gen 2
2025
Physical Installation, Creative Producing
Burning Man 2025, Santa Fe Lamp Show 2025
The Lonely Reef Gen 2 takes a different approach: with a team of close friends, we completely reimagined this year’s art car into a a beautiful, symbiotic, steel organism—an oasis in the form of a mobile bungalow.
Santa Fe Reporter Article
Skills Used:
- Creative Production
- Planning & Scheduling
- Safety & Liability Oversight
- Creative Direction
- Budget Management
- Coordination of Multiple Teams
- Stakeholder Communication
- Technical Direction
- Blue Sky / Design Phase: 2 months
- Build Phase: 5 months
- Core Team: over 40 artists and technical specialists
- Features: mutli-level, minimal onsite assembly, deployable shade system, over 2,000 LED pixels, immersive audio system
- Budget: $175,000 — delivered on time and on budget
Follow the @_thelonelyreef_ on IG ❤️!
See The Lonely Reef Gen 1 Documentation for the project’s History
Year 2 Successes
Burning Man 2024 was our proof of concept year and it passed - it was hard, but people loved it and Zeve and I felt motivated after a very classic Burning Man experience, navigating tumultuous. yet rewarding imperfections. Zeve and I knew 2025 needed to be different. Starting earlier helped. We began the next iteration of The Lonely Reef Gen 2 with clear guardrails and priorities, addressing key maintenance, operational, experiential, and collaboration improvements while refining the creative vision for a more functional, fun, and stress-free art car experience.
Maintenance Success
Last year, Zeve and I played the role of creative and production oversight, while Stark Raven executed the scope in Santa Fe and assembled the vehicle on Playa. This year, we played a more active role in design and building the vehicle. Along with the funder, we adopted the “loanable” mindset, ensuring the car is easy to understand and operate for someone with no prior familiarity with the vehicle. Unlike like last year, there is an organized wire management plan - one with little room for interpretation and in-field assembly. We also designed a car with little to no onsite assembly and disassembly. The car fit inside of a shipping container and rolled out ready to set sail. Well, some assembly required- about 4ish hours until the car was cruising through Black Rock City. After the man burned, it drove right back into the shipping container for storage.
Operational Success
Gen 1 was a blooming coral reef with a range of hand-made sculptures attached throughout the body of the vehicle. It was beautiful and charming in its own right. But there were clear operational priorities to build off of. One, we wanted the car to feel less clunky and rickety, like a singular, robust unit with a reduced risk of impaling passengers and passerbyers and securly mounted elements. The fuel system needed to be reimagined to hold more propane and easily change propane tanks without a full dissaembly. The power for lighting and sound is now integrated into the entire vehicle. One power source - when the vehicle ignites, lighting and sound power on too.
Experiential Success
After observing how Burners interacted with Gen 1, we collected a strong list of experiential prioriites for Gen 2. With the parameter for the car to fit inside of a shipping container, we knew we couldn’t build out, only up. Community and togetherness has always felt important. So we decided to have two levels, BUT we wanted to integrate two levels creatively, eliminating partitioned heights, instead having one amorphous strata where everyone feels together. With Burning Man art cars, there are often split zones and competing experience design goals: a cuddle puddle zone and an open-air party zone. We were drawn to both. We wanted our amorphous strata to be shady and cuddly with vibe lighting and immersive sound. With our new woven hammocks and climable steel structure, we implemented vertical variety and climability without splitting into two discreet levels. We like the idea of permability, where the two zones have fun peak-a-boo moments to interact with each other. We made a well-integrated, hinged, retractable shade element, a major upgrade from last year’s tarp connected with carabiners.
Our guiding priniciple with sound was: don’t do too much. No need for an all-out dance party. Just focus it in to a single use case only: crusing around Playa blasting AUX, maybe the occasional intimate instrument or DJ set. Our sound systems provides all passengers an enjoyable, equal sound experience. And unlike Gen 1, audio control has an intuitive interface.
We wanted lighting to feel more discrete and well integrated, instead of mounting bulky DMX light fixtures to steel pipe with C clamps. This year, lighting was integrated into the form and conceit of the vehicle. The Reef was lit up with beautiful cells of LED pixel lit vacuformed polycarbonate windows. As with sound, we created an easy-to-use lighting control design. Not to mention, all of the tech component had tidy wire management and the driver had clear visiblity with diegetic headlights.
Creative Success
This year, we wanted the art car to go less representational, and move towards the illusionist spectrum. We also wanted to create a shared Creative Vision with our collaborators. Starting from Zeve’s strong creative framework and defined priorities, in one month a small core team developed a new Creative Vision.
This year’s Reef is reminscient of a living ecosystem, an oasis in the form of a mobile bungalow, offering reprieve from the hard Burning Man elements. We wanted it to feel like a living organism and one that relied on the people aboard it to fully come alive. It forms with its passengers the kind of symbiosis found throughout a coral reef.
We enlisted many brilliant minds in the Creative Vision, giving it new meaning and beauty. Though it was a massive collaboration, the Creative Vision never wavered.
Collaboration Success
Finally Zeve and I distributed scope more evenly and collaborated with more artists and specialists. We work for Meow Wolf, live in an artist hotbed in Santa Fe, and have special friendships with talented people. We needed to take advantage of this. And instead of a “go, go, go” attitude, let’s adopt a “design, then build” mindset: we defined a strong and clear Creative Vision, presented the Vision to each collaborator, and ensured everyone was enlisted on the Vision before jumping into the work.
Reflection
The car is beautiful. The Playa is the best museum gallery—the piece framed by the landscape, surrounded by other epic art, felt like The Reef’s natural habitat.
The team and I spent six months in a shop space with the car, working every single day. Seeing it on Playa, in the alien-like environment, with my friends and new faces LOVING the car reminded me why I love producing art (which I needed, in the minute-to-minute chaos of building the next Meow Wolf project). The Art Car is the ultimate multidisciplinary medium, requiring a true meld of artistic talents. Seeing all the components come together, then sharing the cohesive final product with friends who worked on the project at Burning Man, was beautiful. It felt like inviting guests into your home, except your home happens to be an ultra-custom fabricated mutant vehicle made by your friends.
The event is, well… on paper, not an amazing place to bring art. It’s a pool of dust, with rain and dust storms (a lot, apparently), limited resources, and everyone running on chaotic, drug-tripped, exhausted energy. But there’s the paradox: it’s not something you’re supposed to do, yet you do it anyway. Conquering the playa and successfully bringing art feels incredible. Being so close to the piece and surrounded by the spectacle, it’s easy to get wrapped up in expectations and this annoyingly fixed image of how your piece should work and be experienced. I fell into that trap. It was hard, and at times, I felt consumed with disappointment. Then you look around and remember why literally every single person is there. We’re all vulnerable seekers of art. It’s Wednesday, 2 a.m., but people aren’t shut off.
I feel beyond lucky to live in Santa Fe, a community with so many talented, genius artists and friends. Santa Fe is one-of-a-kind, and I’m grateful to call it home. This project felt like a full expression of this magical place. Thank you to every single collaborator. I’m so proud of us. And special thanks to my partner, Zeve, for holding the Creative Vision and driving me and the project forward every single day. I’m proud of myself for pushing to the end.
I’m excited for 2026’s iteration with key upgrades. Follow the @_thelonelyreef_ on IG ❤️!
Year 2 Successes
Burning Man 2024 was our proof of concept year and it passed - it was hard, but people loved it and Zeve and I felt motivated after a very classic Burning Man experience, navigating tumultuous. yet rewarding imperfections. Zeve and I knew 2025 needed to be different. Starting earlier helped. We began the next iteration of The Lonely Reef Gen 2 with clear guardrails and priorities, addressing key maintenance, operational, experiential, and collaboration improvements while refining the creative vision for a more functional, fun, and stress-free art car experience.
Maintenance Success
Last year, Zeve and I played the role of creative and production oversight, while Stark Raven executed the scope in Santa Fe and assembled the vehicle on Playa. This year, we played a more active role in design and building the vehicle. Along with the funder, we adopted the “loanable” mindset, ensuring the car is easy to understand and operate for someone with no prior familiarity with the vehicle. Unlike like last year, there is an organized wire management plan - one with little room for interpretation and in-field assembly. We also designed a car with little to no onsite assembly and disassembly. The car fit inside of a shipping container and rolled out ready to set sail. Well, some assembly required- about 4ish hours until the car was cruising through Black Rock City. After the man burned, it drove right back into the shipping container for storage.
Operational Success
Gen 1 was a blooming coral reef with a range of hand-made sculptures attached throughout the body of the vehicle. It was beautiful and charming in its own right. But there were clear operational priorities to build off of. One, we wanted the car to feel less clunky and rickety, like a singular, robust unit with a reduced risk of impaling passengers and passerbyers and securly mounted elements. The fuel system needed to be reimagined to hold more propane and easily change propane tanks without a full dissaembly. The power for lighting and sound is now integrated into the entire vehicle. One power source - when the vehicle ignites, lighting and sound power on too.
Experiential Success
After observing how Burners interacted with Gen 1, we collected a strong list of experiential prioriites for Gen 2. With the parameter for the car to fit inside of a shipping container, we knew we couldn’t build out, only up. Community and togetherness has always felt important. So we decided to have two levels, BUT we wanted to integrate two levels creatively, eliminating partitioned heights, instead having one amorphous strata where everyone feels together. With Burning Man art cars, there are often split zones and competing experience design goals: a cuddle puddle zone and an open-air party zone. We were drawn to both. We wanted our amorphous strata to be shady and cuddly with vibe lighting and immersive sound. With our new woven hammocks and climable steel structure, we implemented vertical variety and climability without splitting into two discreet levels. We like the idea of permability, where the two zones have fun peak-a-boo moments to interact with each other. We made a well-integrated, hinged, retractable shade element, a major upgrade from last year’s tarp connected with carabiners.
Our guiding priniciple with sound was: don’t do too much. No need for an all-out dance party. Just focus it in to a single use case only: crusing around Playa blasting AUX, maybe the occasional intimate instrument or DJ set. Our sound systems provides all passengers an enjoyable, equal sound experience. And unlike Gen 1, audio control has an intuitive interface.
We wanted lighting to feel more discrete and well integrated, instead of mounting bulky DMX light fixtures to steel pipe with C clamps. This year, lighting was integrated into the form and conceit of the vehicle. The Reef was lit up with beautiful cells of LED pixel lit vacuformed polycarbonate windows. As with sound, we created an easy-to-use lighting control design. Not to mention, all of the tech component had tidy wire management and the driver had clear visiblity with diegetic headlights.
Creative Success
This year, we wanted the art car to go less representational, and move towards the illusionist spectrum. We also wanted to create a shared Creative Vision with our collaborators. Starting from Zeve’s strong creative framework and defined priorities, in one month a small core team developed a new Creative Vision.
This year’s Reef is reminscient of a living ecosystem, an oasis in the form of a mobile bungalow, offering reprieve from the hard Burning Man elements. We wanted it to feel like a living organism and one that relied on the people aboard it to fully come alive. It forms with its passengers the kind of symbiosis found throughout a coral reef.
We enlisted many brilliant minds in the Creative Vision, giving it new meaning and beauty. Though it was a massive collaboration, the Creative Vision never wavered.
Collaboration Success
Finally Zeve and I distributed scope more evenly and collaborated with more artists and specialists. We work for Meow Wolf, live in an artist hotbed in Santa Fe, and have special friendships with talented people. We needed to take advantage of this. And instead of a “go, go, go” attitude, let’s adopt a “design, then build” mindset: we defined a strong and clear Creative Vision, presented the Vision to each collaborator, and ensured everyone was enlisted on the Vision before jumping into the work.
Reflection
The car is beautiful. The Playa is the best museum gallery—the piece framed by the landscape, surrounded by other epic art, felt like The Reef’s natural habitat.
The team and I spent six months in a shop space with the car, working every single day. Seeing it on Playa, in the alien-like environment, with my friends and new faces LOVING the car reminded me why I love producing art (which I needed, in the minute-to-minute chaos of building the next Meow Wolf project). The Art Car is the ultimate multidisciplinary medium, requiring a true meld of artistic talents. Seeing all the components come together, then sharing the cohesive final product with friends who worked on the project at Burning Man, was beautiful. It felt like inviting guests into your home, except your home happens to be an ultra-custom fabricated mutant vehicle made by your friends.
The event is, well… on paper, not an amazing place to bring art. It’s a pool of dust, with rain and dust storms (a lot, apparently), limited resources, and everyone running on chaotic, drug-tripped, exhausted energy. But there’s the paradox: it’s not something you’re supposed to do, yet you do it anyway. Conquering the playa and successfully bringing art feels incredible. Being so close to the piece and surrounded by the spectacle, it’s easy to get wrapped up in expectations and this annoyingly fixed image of how your piece should work and be experienced. I fell into that trap. It was hard, and at times, I felt consumed with disappointment. Then you look around and remember why literally every single person is there. We’re all vulnerable seekers of art. It’s Wednesday, 2 a.m., but people aren’t shut off.
I feel beyond lucky to live in Santa Fe, a community with so many talented, genius artists and friends. Santa Fe is one-of-a-kind, and I’m grateful to call it home. This project felt like a full expression of this magical place. Thank you to every single collaborator. I’m so proud of us. And special thanks to my partner, Zeve, for holding the Creative Vision and driving me and the project forward every single day. I’m proud of myself for pushing to the end.
I’m excited for 2026’s iteration with key upgrades. Follow the @_thelonelyreef_ on IG ❤️!
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the Lonely Reef Team!
- Zeve Cohen - Creative Director, Artist, Designer, Fabricator @zeve.cohen
- Hayden Carey - Creative Producer @haydencarey_
- Kevin Sennot - Tech Systems Designer, Tech Fabricator
- Joseph - Fabricator @naturalis__facultas
- Max Elliot - LED Programmer, Technical Systems Designer @maxbreathedeep
- Erica Esserman - LED Programmer @ericaessermancreates
- Maggie Thornton- Producer, Creative Director, Hammock Weaver @skyciv
- Justin Crouch - Designer, Fabricator @jcrouchfab
- Jess Sheeran- Textile Artist (Cushions) @shopcoolcritters
- Brandy Olsen- Artist, Digital Fabricator @brandyoleson
- Will Robison - Artist, Designer, Fabricator @errormill
- Karen Lembke- Textile Artist (Shade) @karenlambcakes
- Matthew Erdmann- Artist, CAD Designer @matthewerdmann
- Paige Powell - Designer, Fabricator @ppow_creative
- Chereya Esters - Fabricator @cherayae
- Rachel Eilts- Hammock Artist, Weaver @racheleilts
- Eric Heep - Audio Designer @dkfjsal
- Emilio Pincheira - Paint Specialist @emiliopincheira
- Zach Sawan - Paint Specialist @zark.swern
- Ray Pacheco - Tech Fabricator @raylius_pachecio
- Ilya Tinker - Fabricator @ilysparkplug
- Jon Gaver- Fabricator @jondoesntcare
- G Leger-Lovato- Concept Artist @glegerlovato
- Kayla Quinn- Digital Fabricator @quaylakinn
- Jonathan Meade - Digital Fabricator @jonathan.meade
- Sweeney - Vision Lead @sweenzor
- Lauryn Ebersole - Fabricator
- Emily Callegari - Fabricator @noodle_nest
- Mikey Stupin - Fabricator
- Erica Kruger - Tech Fabricator @ericakrueger_
- Oliver Baerr - Sticker Designer @dreamdisplay
- Santa Fe Awning - Awning Fabricator @santafeawning
- Stark Raven - Fabricator @stark_raven_fab
- Max Cohn - Fabricator @loredevil_in_a_desert
- Brad - Shipping and Logistics peikconstruction.com
- Erich Schandelwein- Mechanic @erich_schand
- Gracie Meier - Photographer @therealslimgracie
- Christopher Gregor - Mechanic Consultant
- Benji - Debut Party Poster Designer @mondoqiwah
- Elio Ortega - Propane Systems @ortegaspropaneserviceinc