The Mechabolic, A Trash-To-Fuel Land Speed Racer Slug

Jim Mason, Dann Davis, Chicken John and a dedicated team of artists are hard at work on “The Mechabolic”, an ambitious, large scale art installation that they are creating for Burning Man 2007. The sculpture, a digestive and respiratory system contained in a 120’ long slug-like structure, will convert trash into fuel through gasification as it slowly makes its way across the playa in search of waste biomass to feed upon. Here’s an overview of the project, which fits in well with Burning Man’s Green Man theme.

The Mechabolic project is a large-scale bio-imitative installation of hydrocarbon based fuel production, transformation and consumption. Our goal is to create a fantastical, bio-machine hybrid environment –a burlesque of the “synthetic metabolism” of machines– recasting internal combustion engines and petroleum fuels as their parallel animal organs and plant generated carbohydrate foods.

Back in May The Mechabolic was featured in a CNET article by Daniel Terdiman: “Burning Man takes on green tech”

Here are some photos of The Mechabolic under construction, including a scale model used to explain the project. Check out The Mechabolic blog for periodic project updates. They are also looking for help with completing the project, especially people with fabrication experience. Contact Jim Mason if you are interested.