Help Bring Hudzo's Charon to Europe

Charon is going on tour, and we need your support!

First built in 2011 for Burning Man in Black Rock City, NV, Charon by Peter Hudson has traveled to 7 cities across the globe, captivating the imagination of millions.

Our team has been invited by Les Machines to tour the sculpture once again over a 2-year period in 5 cities across Europe. Charon will be presented as a featured exhibition in five art festivals, which are free and open to the public for viewing! This is the first time Charon will be free for the public to enjoy, which is incredibly important to our team.

While each city will contribute to the cost for the public exhibitions of Charon, there’s a considerable amount of fees that our participating partners could not cover.

We are fundraising to cover the shortfall in the budget for this massive production, which includes:

With your support, we know we can make this a safe and successful production that will inspire creativity and instill the spirit of Burning Man across Europe.

Charon will be shown in 5 cities starting in the summer of 2022. The schedule is as follows:

We hope you can join us in our travels!

FAQ:

What Is Charon?

Charon is a life-sized Stroboscopic Zoetrope by artist Peter Hudson (“Hudzo”)

What is a Stroboscopic Zoetrope?

Zoetropes are the earliest form of animation, dating back to the 1800s. They consist of a cylinder with a progression of images inside and slots to peer through.

As the wheel spins, the motion gives the viewer the illusion of movement. Peter Hudson figured out how to create the effect with life-sized sculptures, using spinning motion and strobe lights to create something akin to a three-dimensional motion picture.

It is difficult to take a video of stroboscopic zoetropes because of the difference in frame rates. Often the 1/100th of a second strobe flashes can not be captured between frames using a standard camera. However, some applications, including Hudzovision, are able to achieve this.

The central focus of Hudzo's art is dedicated to creating these large-scale zoetropes that engage environment, body, and spirit while pushing the boundaries of kinetic sculpture. All of his works are interactive, and often bear the visual hallmarks of pure invention – incorporating a whimsical mix of interlocking gears, spinning wheels, repetitive motion,

and cyclical action.

Through touch or physical labor, the public is invited to power the sculpture directly, activating dream-like optical effects or mesmerizing mechanical events. Beyond the meditative imagery involving cycles or fortitude, the frenetic aspects of Hudzo’s sculpture

impart serious questions regarding existence, progress (or lack thereof), consumption and routine.

What is the story?

A gigantic 30’ spinning wheel with posed human skeletons mounted on its inner edge,

Charon is fully powered by a minimum of 12 people working in unison. Onlookers are

invited to pull a series of 6 rope pairs which causes the wheel to rotate progressively

faster. When the rope pullers are coordinated enough to get the wheel spinning at the

correct speed, a strobe is activated, revealing the skeletons’ animation.

The animation tells the story of Charon, the mythological gondolier and ferryman of

Hades who carried the souls of the recently departed across the river styx, the last

right of passage on the way to the afterlife.

Charon asks onlookers to reflect on their own mortality and ponder how to give and

get the most from their brief time here on earth. The artist’s hope is that they will not

dwell on their ultimate demise, but ponder how they might make their own lives

richer and more meaningful.

When witnessed in person, the effect is nothing short of breathtaking.