Wandering Man

Wandering Man, 2024 Pendant by Allison Cheung.

Allison writes, “When I heard the Curiouser & Curiouser theme for 2024, many thoughts entered my mind. I thought about a vortex sucking you into the unknown. I thought about going down a rabbit hole. And I kept coming back to the saying: “Not all those who wander are lost.” Sometimes people lose their way because they are curious and want to stop and see things–much like what happens when you explore on the Playa. I also really liked the concept of the maze, and how someone in a maze may feel like they are wandering and not really accomplishing anything. But it is okay to wander…to be lost…or to be curious. So I paired the saying “Not all those who wander are lost” with the maze, and put the Man/Effigy in the middle to symbolize the wandering that we do and curiosity that we all have during Burning Man.

For half of the pendants, you can pick a point in the maze and walk around the entire circle to arrive back at where you started. For the other half, you cannot make your way around. For random gifts on Playa, I told folks “the Playa decides what you get” in terms of whether you can walk around the maze or not. People seemed to enjoy the mystery of which pendant they got. But whether you can walk around the maze or not, they are both in theme with the saying.

The pendant is made of shiny nickel and black enamel.”