Burning Man

Jena served as Lead Artist on the 2013 Burning Man project The Church Trap. The work features her signature still-action music sheets emerging from an 1880s pump organ, as if the instrument has finally decided to externalize its thoughts. Rebekah Waites, who conceptualized the project, invited Jena to adapt this familiar visual language for what was affectionately referred to as the “cheese” in The Church Trap.

Over the course of ten months, Jena coordinated and fabricated the installation, welding more than 2,000 feet of steel to create the musical ribbon. some extending between 45 and 75 feet in length. Countless hours were spent installing LED lights, carefully integrated into each ribbon.

The installation is highly interactive. When the organ’s keys are played, the ribbons illuminate in corresponding colors, responding directly to the performer. The piece listened to everyone who played.

A short film below documents the build process, the interaction between organ and player, and the eventual burn.