“She’s one mean, lean little Corsair…built in the city; conceived right from the heart of the city, in the East End, in Fulton Hill, RVA,” said Reef Clem of the Party Liberation Front (PLF). Her name is Flora Burn, and she is a pyroship art car that will be making an appearance at this Friday’s Hangar 18 Party.
“She’s one mean, lean little Corsair…built in the city; conceived right from the heart of the city, in the East End, in Fulton Hill, RVA,” said Reef Clem of the Party Liberation Front (PLF). Her name is Flora Burn, and she is a pyroship art car that will be making an appearance at this Friday’s Hangar 18 Party. The pyroship was an idea influenced by the PLF’s pirate dress parties. As Clem says, “everyone kind of identifies with the pirate life.”
Clem decided to create an art car in 2003 after attending Burning Man, the legendary annual celebration of radical self-expression held each year in the Nevada desert. Clem was fairly impressed by his experience at Burning Man, and the art cars he saw at the festival gave him the idea to create one of his own.
Over the ensuing years, as the PLF began to come together and fortuitous opportunities presented themselves, the art car idea progressed into the specific form of a pyroship. Flora Burn began with an old 1986 Toyota Grandville mini-motorhome, which was once used to transport speakers to and from PLF parties. The frame was taken off, the roof was cut, and the vehicle was stripped bare in order to create the optimal framework on which to build a pyroship. “It is an ever-evolving process. It’s not ever really finished,” Clem said. “It already has evolved a lot since its first appearance.”
In 2012, Flora Burn made her first appearance at Transformus, a regional festival modeled on Burning Man, held at Deerfield’s in North Carolina. At the time, Flora Burn only consisted of the rear section, and still bore some resemblance to a pickup truck. However, since then, she has been transformed. Clem welded and others helped dress her with shellac, electronics fire effects, and a water cannon used to squirt people in the summertime.
While the entire process has been challenging, as the transformation from a motorhome to a pyroship that can safely hold up to 35 people isn’t the easiest, the PLF has received art grants at some of the events they have attended in order to add more fun and interactive components. One of the biggest challenges to overcome is the control section. “Someone has to drive, which isn’t very fun for that person,” Clem said. “We would like to meet that challenge… to have the driver onboard with the passengers instead of being in the belly of the ship, unable to interact.”
But despite the challenges, Flora Burn really makes people happy, and for Clem, this makes it all worth it. He’s looking forward to Flora Burn’s appearance at the Hangar 18 party on Friday. “I’m definitely excited she will be making an appearance,” he said. “We hope to full some strings with the fire department so that it can be fiery.” A short school bus decorated with undersea monsters painted by Heroes and Ghosts’ tattoo artist Charles Berger will be pulling Flora Burn at the Hangar 18 event. “Come and be a part of the pirate crew at the Hangar 18! It’ll be a fun time with lots of local entertainment,” Clem said.
Hangar 18, RVA Magazine’s Official Halloweek Kickoff Party, will take place this Friday, October 25 at 2501 W. Cary St, the former GRTC bus depot and the site of the RVA Street Art Festival. The event is a benefit for the RVA Street Art Festival and Art On Wheels. Pre-sale tickets are $5, and can be ordered now by clicking . Admission is $10 at the door. For more info on Hangar 18, click here.
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