Behind the Scenes – Meet Gregg, The Temple Lead for KB2021
Gregg will be a familiar face to many on the Paddock, especially if you’ve been involved with Temple or Effigy builds before. He’s had a hand in:
2016 – Kiwiburn Effigy “Maui”
2017 – Kiwiburn Temple
2018 – Kiwiburn Effigy “Minotaur”, Burning Man Honoraria art piece “come million”, Burning Seed Temple
2019 – Ignition Effigy “Rubber Chicken”, Burning Seed Effigy “Audax”
2020 – Kiwiburn Effigy “Pregnant Goddess”
Tell us a little about yourself:
Firstly, what does the Temple Team lead role involve?
As this is my first time leading a build I’m sure I’ll have a better idea in a few months time, but essentially it is my role to come up with a vision for the temple build and see it through to fruition. I’m lucky enough to work as a carpenter in my real life which makes the building side of things a bit easier and I’m actually most confident about our time on site, but in the last few months I have been finalising the design, sourcing quotes and meeting with structural engineers, putting together a team and just basically getting all the gears in motion.
How do you spend your time when you are not doing things related to Kiwiburn?
I live down in the beautiful town of Wanaka which gives me ample opportunity to get out and about and enjoy the country I’ve been privileged enough to call home, so lately I’ve been snowboarding. But in truth every ounce of my energy has been going into building a tiny house over the weekends I’ve had free over the past couple years and I’m happy to say it’s nearly finished 🙂
Being involved with Kiwiburn can take a lot of energy. How do you re-energise?
Kiwiburn for sure takes a lot of energy. On most builds I have regularly worked 60-70 hour weeks for 3 weeks to get projects finished. However, it is being involved in this community and spending this time onsite that re-energises me for the real world. I am passionate about art, community and decommodification and so I really value my involvement and happily give my time.
Do you have a favourite burn outfit?
I have, accidently at first, garnered a rather large collection of floral print skinny jeans, and I think I am at the point where I can do a few wardrobe changes a day for the whole festival if I felt the need.
What skills have you learned by being involved with Kiwiburn?
Coming from a building background a lot of the skills to erect structures are pretty similar, however I am never given the opportunity to spend entire days making odd bits of wood look and feel nice. Using tools in ways that I would never use them on a residential site. Also being part of Effigy builds is a very different beast and being honest I probably enjoy those builds more than Temple but I have tried to come up with something a little special for our Mythical Picnic.
What has been your favourite moment at a Burn?
The build is my favourite. Spending time on site with 50 or so creative passionate people is just the best experience and I highly recommend volunteering to anyone. But that is a bit of a cop out answer so I’m gonna say Friday night at Burning Man 2018, riding out into deep Playa to see our art piece for the first time since gates opened, I was met by the sight of the Sanctuary art “car” (think a laserfied cathedral on wheels) hosting a party with a few thousand people and a huge drone show overhead. Absolutely mind blowing!
What are you most excited about for Kiwiburn 2021?
The interaction between camps last year was freakin amazing. I enjoyed the many shenanigans and loved my daily catch of the news at sixish. Big shout out to the Creature Lab for sciencing their way through the week and yeah I wanna see more stories unfold.
