# Crypto Lotus (2013)

The Sacred Lotus is one of only three plants known to man to generate heat in its blossom. It is hypothesized that it does this to attract the insects that pollinate it.

When Branden stumbled onto this fact it made him wonder what a plant would be like that had human beings as its pollinator and inspired him to create his largest art project to date.

The Crypto Lotus was a human sized animatronic lotus blossom with over 2,000 LEDs in its petals. Colors cascaded across the lotus’ petals, gently waving through every color of the rainbow in beautiful, subtle patterns that attracted anyone who saw it.

When viewers would get closer, they would notice six, glowing, hexagonal lily pads surrounding the flower. They would then discover that by stepping on the lily pads it would make them change color.

By playing with the lily pads clever viewers might figure out how to make all of the lily pads glow a brilliant white - thus cracking the lotus’ puzzle and making it bloom! Using a complicated system of pulleys and levers the lotus would actually open as brilliant patterns of light and dark danced across the petals.

The Crypto Lotus was funded from a successful Kickstarter campaign as well as grants from two regional Burning Man events, Playa Del Fuego and Lakes of Fire. The highest level backers of the project on Kickstarter received a special engraved hexagonal box containing a custom remote control that could make the Crypto Lotus show a personalized animation on command.

In 2013 the Crypto Lotus was the featured art at the 4:30 plaza at Burning Man.