PEOPLE at Glastonbury Festival have been encouraged to bring written memories or images “of people or situations they wish to let go of” to a sculpture that will be set on fire tonight.
The 40-foot tall Burning Lotus sculpture was created by artist Joe Rush and his team from steel and salvaged wood and canvas to offer a sense of closure to festivalgoers about people and things they are ready to move on from.
The sculpture can be found in The Park near the iconic Glastonbury Festival sign on the hill at the edge of Worthy Farm’s 800 acres.
Between 12pm and 5pm on festival days (including today), attendees have been able to climb the steps to the sculpture and place their words or photographs into it.
It will be set on fire at midnight, which the festival says will create a “cathartic experience of reflection and release”.
Writing on Instagram, festival co-organiser Emily Eavis said: “During the festival, people will be encouraged to write down memories and images of people or situations they wish to let go of.
“It may be people who died in the lockdown who were not properly said goodbye to, it may be failed business projects, it may even be failed marriages, but the point is that all of these things will be focused on and then placed inside the lotus.
“At midnight on Sunday, the lotus will be ignited and while the flames roar up, the whole gear-driven inferno will be burnt to nothing and with this, we will be able to let go and get some closure.”
Irish singer-songwriter AVA (Éabha McMahon) will introduce the ceremony from 11:30pm with her “lilting voice and guitar” while members of the crowd “gather our thoughts and focus”.
Artist Rush, who founded the Mutoid Waste Company in 1984 and creates art commenting on society’s wastefulness, said: “On Sunday night, a girl called AVA’s going to play some beautiful music and we’re going to start the thing moving, setting it all on fire.
“It’ll just be a massive flaming torch. All these things are just going to disappear. We’re going to let go of all of these things and watch them burn.”
Postal contributions to be burnt were accepted until Thursday, June 23, while people at the festival can add their contributions until 5pm today.
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