Crikey!!!! Niloticus is a 40 foot long mosaic crocodile making its debut on the dusty playa this year. Artist Peter Hazel will go back to his roots and create one of the largest mosaic sculptures of his career. Niloticus is an Honoraria recipient for 2019 and won't disappoint! Peter's previous pieces of art include Bloom (2017-2018) and Octavius (2016). Peter incorporates his love of wildlife into his art pieces and he is always striving to bring color to the playa. His bright lights of color capture the eyes of visitors and remind them of the beauty of nature.

"This project has been so much fun and every step of the way I get more and more excited. I was first inspired to do a crocodile because the texture on the back closes resembles tile work. To me, it made perfect sense to combine the two and create a large scale sculpture. The color scheme is my celebration of color on the playa. All of my works are vibrant and full of life, therefore the Cobalt, Caribbean Blue, and Emerald Green are my enhanced vision of a crocodile. I welcomed the opportunity to use these colors because they are some of my favorites and truly, the tiles have come out amazing.

The team this year has been on fire! I am so thrilled to be working with great people that really bring a lot to the project and are passionate about it. We have a retired aerospace engineer that is helping with all our lighting work, skilled welders, and of course tile makers. Many of the crew from last year have returned. We had great volunteers from Octavius and Bloom from Burning Man that have returned to help with this one! Everyone on the team is very excited and passionate about the art and cannot wait to get this done and take it out there! " - Peter

Niloticus has a steel structure and is being made with ceramic and glass. The crocodile is 40 feet long, 9 feet tall, and at the widest point 8.5 feet. The total weight comes to 15,000 pounds! The majority of the crocodile will be covered in hand made ceramic tiles in the blue and greens. The colors continue into the fins of the crocodile with hand blown green and blue glass that are lit up by LED and are programmable for an excellent light show. There will be a secret entrance that leads to the inside of the structure, or belly, covered in pink fuzzy carpet and including a disco-ball. 

This crocodile is strong enough to hold 100 of you on top of his back. You will be climbing over thousands and thousands of hand made, high fired ceramic tile. The tiles will be a spectrum of greens and blues, enchanting visitors with its skin. His body, twisting and turning, will go on forever into the dust.

Budget

The funds raised by this campaign will contribute to purchasing materials such as ceramic clay and glaze for all of the crocodile tiles. It will also help to buy the LEDs, glass, and mortar for the piece. WE NEED YOUR HELP in order to make this happen. And don't forget the cool perks you receive when you donate :-) 

We are hard at work in the studio and we hope you get inspired by this art piece and help Niloticus make it to the playa! THANK YOU!