Engineering Mythology: A Digital-Physical Framework for Culturally-Inspired Public Art
Authors: Jnaneshwar Das, Christopher Filkins, Rajesh Moharana, Ekadashi Barik, Bishweshwar Das, David Ayers, Christopher Skiba, Rodney Staggers, Mark Dill, Swig Miller, Daniel Tulberg, Patrick Smith, Seth Brink, Kyle Breen, Harish Anand, Ramon Arrowsmith
Navagunjara Reborn: The Phoenix of Odisha was built for Burning Man 2025 as both a sculpture and an experiment-a fusion of myth, craft, and computation. This paper describes the digital-physical workflow developed for the project: a pipeline that linked digital sculpting, distributed fabrication by artisans in Odisha (India), modular structural optimization in the U.S., iterative feedback through photogrammetry and digital twins, and finally, one-shot full assembly at the art site in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. The desert installation tested not just materials, but also systems of collaboration: between artisans and engineers, between myth and technology, between cultural specificity and global experimentation. We share the lessons learned in design, fabrication, and deployment and offer a framework for future interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of cultural heritage, STEAM education, and public art. In retrospect, this workflow can be read as a convergence of many knowledge systems-artisan practice, structural engineering, mythic narrative, and environmental constraint-rather than as execution of a single fixed blueprint.
Figures & tables
Fig. 1 : Traditional ‘Pattachitra’ painting of Navagunjara in Raghurajpur, Odisha, India. Photo courtesy: Lipikka Sahoo
Fig. 2 : Navagunjara Reborn: An 18-foot sculptural fusion of the Navagunjara and Phoenix myths, is illuminated by interactive flame effects at Burning Man 2025. Each animal section showcases traditional Odia crafts—including dhokra metalwork, sabai grass weaving, pattachitra painting, and indigenous textiles—brought together in a monumental installation that celebrates resilience, unity, and the transformative power of mythology through participatory public art.
Fig. 3 : Conceptual synthesis and design-to-build progression of Navagunjara Reborn. (A) Traditional painting of the Navagunjara (source: Wikipedia), the mythological nine-formed composite from Odisha’s Mahabharata retelling that anchors the cultural concept. (B) 2D design concept from Boito. (C) Refined Blender digital twin for India Art Fair 2025 (8 ft). (D) 3D render from the Burning Man 2025 full proposal (15–18 ft), submitted for the Honoraria Arts Grant. (E) 3D-printed physical twin of the sculpture, produced in Phoenix, AZ, for structural validation and artisan communication. (F) Crafts atlas mapping traditional Odia craft techniques to each animal section, guiding the fabrication build in Odisha. (G) Full digital twin during India crafts build phase. (H) Completed aluminum CAD superstructure digital twin prior to transport to playa, with scanned crafts staged in Phoenix, AZ. Bottom row: Navagunjara Reborn at Black Rock City, August 2025, with active poofer flame effects.
Sculptural Components
Crafts Techniques
Skillsets Required
Primary Artisans
Elephant Leg, Peacock Neck, Rooster head
Metal Wireframing + Sabai Grass Weaving
Precision steel forming, structured weaving, dye work, large-format framework construction
Rajesh Moharana, Malli Mani Nayak, Purnima Nayak, Pankajini Nayak, Arsu Marandi, Geeta Nayak, Jayanti Nayak, Gowri Mahapatra, Minu Nayak, Bina Pani Patra , Basamati Nayak
Human Arm & Tigress Leg
Dhokra/brass metalwork/filigree
Lost-wax investment casting with bronze, motifs with brass filigree
TABLE I : Mapping Odisha artisan skills and techniques to sculpture components.
Animal
Proposed Craft
Actual Craft
Rooster (head)
Terracotta
Sabai grass + metal wireframe
Peacock (neck)
Pattachitra painting
Sabai grass + metal wireframe
Human (arm)
Papier-mâché
Dhokra brass metalwork
Elephant (leg)
Ikat/bandha textiles
Metal wireframe + sabai grass
Lioness (torso)
Grass weaving
Cane mesh, pattachitra, kotpad
Tiger (leg)
Stone carving
Dhokra brass metalwork
TABLE II : Craft adaptation arc: proposed vs. realized material assignments per animal section. Scale, shipping weight, artisan availability, and LNT constraints drove the substitutions.
Fig. 5 : Blender render of the Burning Man 2025 sculpture design with the controlled torch-based poofer flame effects configuration, with a human figure for scale. The hexagonal tripodal aluminum base is visible. This design followed the pivot from the original open-flame burn concept after FAST review and Black Rock City’s LNT protocols necessitated a safer approach to fire.
Fig. 6 : Design iterations from Sep 2024 to May 2025: Iterative progression of digital sculpting and structural design for Navagunjara Reborn—from early concepts developed for the India Art Fair, through the Burning Man letter of intent and full proposal, to the finalized design. Each stage reflects adaptive refinement in posture, artistic detail, and engineering, integrating feedback from multidisciplinary teams and evolving constraints across local and international contexts.
Fig. 7 : Odia artisans fabricate sculptural components for Navagunjara Reborn using traditional techniques such as wireframing, cane weaving, and metalwork. The integration of digital design references and 3D-printed templates guided the authentic creation of each element, exemplifying a collaborative craft-computation workflow that bridges local knowledge and global innovation.
Fig. 8 : Design translation and craft layout: Digital orthographic projections and printed templates guided Odia artisans in fabricating wireframes and panels. This process demonstrates the integration of computational accuracy with traditional craftsmanship, bridging physical fabrication and digital intent across continents through shared measurement and visualization tools
Fig. 9 : Physical and digital twins in the design pipeline: a 3D-printed scale model of Navagunjara Reborn used for structural validation (left), and the DeepGIS web viewer displaying the digital twin for remote design review and orthographic projection export (right). Together, these tools formed a closed feedback loop between the design team in Arizona and the artisan teams in Odisha.
Fig. 10 : DeepGIS XR app displaying the Navagunjara Reborn digital twin with 2D orthographic projection and 3D visualization capabilities. The metric grid overlay enables generation of metrically accurate, wide-paper printable templates directly from the app, guiding artisans in Odisha during the fabrication of cane and metal components.
Fig. 11 : Dhokra figurine curation and motif atlas for sculptural body parts. Anshu Arora and Badal Satpathy sourced dhokra figurines from local shops—with choices confirmed by the lead artist in real time via video call—and developed a crafts design atlas mapping each figurine to its designated position on the orthographic projections of the 3D digital model. Anshu Arora served as crafts design motif consultant in this stage, bridging traditional iconography and computational form. Rajesh Moharana then drew on his dhokra and metal sculpting expertise to collaborate with the lead artist in translating the atlas into the finished sculptural sections.
Fig. 12 : Master craftsmen Rajesh Moharana and Ekadashi Barik fabricate sculptural components in Odisha, each drawing on decades of craft knowledge alongside digital guides—2D orthographic prints and the 3D digital twin accessed via Blender and DeepGIS. Rajesh constructs the tigress leg from bronze dhokra metalwork and wireframing; Ekadashi forms and assembles the deer leg from bamboo canewood rings and longitudinal sections, carefully shaped and joined. The pairing of computational references with embodied craft expertise is the defining characteristic of the digital-physical workflow at the heart of Navagunjara Reborn.
Fig. 13 : Rapid prototyping through 3D printing: validation of design iterations preceding the Odisha artisan build phase (April 2025).
Fig. 14 : SfM reconstructions of cane artifact: torso and leg. Images were captured by Bishweshwar Das
Requirement
Protocol
Height
18 feet
Wind Gust Design
75 mph
Anchor Spec
3,000+ lbs tension, 22 ′′ helical
Anchor Spacing
≥ 3’ apart
Factor of Safety
≥ 3 (see FEA)
Climb Load
250 lbs/pt, dynamic 400 lbs
TABLE III : Summary of structural and flame effect design parameters for the 18-foot-tall installation.
Fig. 15 : Air freight arrival and staging in Phoenix, AZ (mid-July 2025). Craft components shipped via air freight from Odisha arrived in labeled wooden crates, each marked with photographic references of its contents. The garage workshop served as the staging and structural retrofit facility during the compressed six-week window before Burning Man.
Fig. 16 : Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry and smartphone imaging workflows enabled rapid, high-fidelity 3D scans of artisan-crafted panels. GoPro and iPhone image sets, processed in Agisoft Metashape, generated digital twins of sculpted components—including elephant legs, arms, torsos, and more. When combined with CAD tools, these 3D scans facilitated non-intrusive truss and assembly design, allowing the engineering team to optimize structural support around each unique handmade element with minimal cutting and maximal preservation of artistic form. This integrated process ensured both the safety and the distinct material character of the installation, from shipping to final assembly on playa.
Fig. 17 : Integration of artisan-crafted components with structural engineering minimizing the need for modifications or cuts to crafted panels, maximizing both structural integrity and visual impact in the final assembly.
Fig. 18 : Comparison of SfM-derived models with CAD design drawings, used for validation of sculptural components.
Component
Materials and Techniques
Elephant leg
Two vertical sections; sabai grass woven around 6 mm steel wire frame; central support lines later removed to reduce weight before mounting.
Human arm
Entirely metal fabrication; no lost-wax or wound investment casting; produced as a single unit with port openings for interior access.
Tigress rear right leg
Two parts, metallic; Dhokra [ 9 ] metalwork; animal motifs along wireframe; upper section has truss openings functioning as cross-members.
Deer rear left leg
Structural cane-wood mesh; adorned with pattachitra paintings; textile strips interwoven between cane elements.
Lioness torso
Cane-wood mesh for 3D volume; decorated with pattachitra paintings; appliqué textile strips between cane sections near base.
Rooster head
Steel wire framing for shape, with dyed sabai grass for space filling woven patterning.
TABLE IV : Summary of sculpted crafts and materials and methods used.
Fig. 19 : ASU facilities management alumni Christopher Skiba fabricates pieces of the superstructure at his Tempe, AZ workshop.
Fig. 20 : Structural welder Shane Till performs precision MIG welding of the deer leg and tigress leg aluminum truss columns to their foot discs at his Tempe, AZ workshop. Each leg required cut planes optimized in Autodesk Fusion 360, followed by careful angular alignment before welding to lock in the correct joint angles. These angles—together with the hexagonal base—determined the heading of the completed sculpture, ensuring the raised human arm, the rooster head, and the flame effects would all point precisely toward The Man. The final installation achieved exactly this orientation on playa, with residual compliance in the torso-to-leg attachment providing a degree of fine adjustment during on-site assembly.
Fig. 21 : Structural design and validation of the Navagunjara Reborn installation: Digital models (a, b) illustrate the core aluminum tubing and truss system designed to support the artisan-crafted components. Finite element modeling (c) was used to test the superstructure under vertical and lateral loads, including worst-case wind scenarios. The analysis confirmed factors of safety greater than 5 for the base and above 3 for the sculpture skeleton, intentionally exceeding minimum requirements to prepare for dynamic loading and future adaptations for climbability.
Fig. 22 : Careful packing and logistical coordination enabled the safe transport of the intricate sculptural components and superstructure elements from Odisha to the Nevada desert. This figure illustrates the organized stacking of lightweight yet sturdy panels, metal frameworks, and craft materials into protective crates and trailers. By optimizing container sizes and leveraging modularity, the team ensured efficient shipping, minimized handling risks, and facilitated rapid on-site assembly under challenging environmental and schedule constraints.
Fig. 23 : On-playa construction at Black Rock City: The first image shows a planned spatial layout for assembly of the sculpture components, equipment staging, and work zones designed to accommodate storm conditions and facilitate secure anchoring. The next image offers a mid-build aerial perspective, capturing the logistical complexity, community collaboration, and modular workflow that enabled rapid resilience and adaptation in the demanding environment of the Nevada desert. Solar panel array and propane cylinders are visible in this image.
Fig. 24 : Preparing infrastructure for interactive art: BMORG’s fire support (FAST) crew excavates trenches to safely route propane and power lines during on-playa assembly of Navagunjara Reborn. Concurrently, the completed torso—protected and poised for lifting—awaits hoisting and attachment to the assembled leg substructure. This scene highlights the coordination of fuel, flame effects, electrical supply, and heavy-lift operations required to safely integrate large-scale sculpture in a temporary desert city.
Fig. 25 : On-playa pre-staging: the aluminum base superstructure stands erected with legs attached, while the cane-and-metal torso (foreground, right) awaits lifting and threading onto the truss. The trailer serves as both transport and mobile workshop. This intermediate state captures the moment between structural assembly and craft integration—prior to the addition of flame effects apparatus. Photo: Black Rock Desert, August 2025.
Fig. 26 : Precisely formed aluminum leg truss being inserted into the cane deer leg on playa, with minimal cuts to the craft element.
Fig. 27 : Navagunjara Reborn on playa at Black Rock City, August 2025: mid-build assembly (left) and the completed sculpture with active poofer flame effects (right).
Fig. 28 : Dismantling and Leave No Trace (LNT) on playa: Team systematically disassemble the Navagunjara Reborn structure, carefully recovering panels, hardware, and infrastructure to ensure minimal environmental impact. The stages of teardown—from lifting major elements to collecting small debris—reflect the project’s commitment to efficient, sustainable art practices and festival-wide principles of ecological stewardship and radical accountability.
Fig. 29 : Merged graphic of Navagunjara Reborn design phases: early parametric sculpting, India Art Fair model, Burning Man full proposal render, and final design with artisan-crafted elements integrated.
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Sofian Audry, Stephen Kelly
School of Media, Faculty of Communication, Universit´e du Qu´ebec `a Montr´eal · Department of Computing and Software, Faculty of Engineering, McMaster University
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Hokky Situngkir
Dept. Computational Sociology - Bandung Fe Institute.