James Tyler’s brickhead EARTH

Client: James Tyler

Project: Short Documentary

James Tyler builds a monumental sculpture in the desert

Earth to earth then dust to dust, a symbol rises from the ashes of the desert burn and reminds us we can be the change our planet requires. This is a first in a series of short films produced and directed by Suzanne Mitchell and David Sosnow and was shot in the dusty heat of the Nevada desert where renowned sculptor James Tyler begins a journey to bring attention to the most endangered places on our planet. In August 2015, Tyler brings a team of eight New Yorkers to the Black Rock Desert to erect a four-ton ceramic head at the Burning Man Festival. We watch as Tyler fights the blistering dust storms to build a nine-foot-tall brick head. It is the personification of humankind and the fragility of humanity during a period when environmental degradation is having profound effects on man's future.