Approximately 525 years ago, an Italian polymath named Leonardo da Vinci completed a pen and ink drawing called The Vitruvian Man . The piece depicts a nude man in two superimposed positions, inscribed in a circle and a square. Inspired by the work of an architect named Vitruvius , Leonardo created the piece as a manifestation of the ideal human body, the principal archetype of proportionality.

Fast forward to 2016, when Leonardos iconic contribution to the fields of art, science, mathematics and the place where the three intersect will be honored in the most dream-like of ways. In the middle of Nevadas Black Rock City, approximately 70,000 people will join together to burn the Man to the ground.

Thats right, this years Burning Man theme is Leonardo da Vincis Workshop , paying homage to the artist and his crew who transformed 15th- and 16th-century Florence through ingenuity, creativity and crazy skill.

Over 300 artists have registered to bring their most surreal, hallucinatory and utopian Leondardo-inspired visions to life on the large-scale stage that is the playa. There are giant butterfly sculptures. There are floating LED dancing women. There are most certainly breathing robot alligator puppets.

Weve rounded up 12 of the projects most likely to make Leonardo say, Whoa, what? Each artist or artist collective contributed a brief description of their project, along with a quote describing how the piece taps into the overall spirit of Burning Man. Take a look below.

1. FLOCONS

by Anna-Gaelle Lucy Marshall and Dusty Visions (Portland, Oregon)