CEVA transports Eiffela Broken Dream to Burning Man
0CEVA Logistics (CEVA), a global leader in third-party logistics, today announced that it has successfully transported Eiffela Broken Dream, a monumental art installation by French artist Philippe Maindron, from France to the United States for its debut at Burning Man, the iconic arts and culture event held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert from August 30 to September 7.
The large-scale installation depicts a fractured Eiffel Tower, measuring 30 meters long and 15 meters high, built from 29 tons of steel. Created in Rochetrejoux in France’s Vendée region, Eiffela Broken Dream was disassembled and shipped in two open-top containers and two equipment containers. CEVA managed the international logistics from western France to Nevada.
“Eiffela Broken Dream is the realization of a project I have imagined for years, and seeing it come to life has been an extraordinary human and artistic experience,” said Philippe Maindron, artist and creator of Eiffela Broken Dream. “I chose to fracture the Eiffel Tower in two to explore the tension between collapse and hope. The lower section evokes the remains of a lost civilization, while the soaring upper section reaches toward the sky as a symbol of resilience and the possibility of a brighter future. It was designed to be dismantled, transported, and rebuilt, but that does not make the journey simple. It is a complex structure with many numbered elements, and every detail matters. To bring it from France to Burning Man, I needed a logistics partner I can trust to handle the work with care and precision.”
In true Burning Man style, Eiffela Broken Dream is more than just a sculpture, it is an immersive performance. A cable stretches high above the desert across each half of the tower, where a tightrope walker is expected to cross between the fractured peaks, bringing the installation to life.
Transport began on May 6, when the artwork left Rochetrejoux by truck for the Port of Le Havre. The containers departed Le Havre by ocean vessel on May 14 and arrived at the Port of Oakland on June 25. After unloading the containers in Oakland, CEVA subsequently transported the installation by road to Reno, Nevada, before the final move to the Burning Man site. CEVA is responsible for the full scale of multimodal logistics, including the initial international sea transport, handling import-export customs formalities.
“Transporting Eiffela Broken Dream requires the same discipline and coordination CEVA brings to complex industrial and event logistics worldwide,” said Jesús Rogelio Garza, Head of Ground and Rail – North America, CEVA Logistics. “This is not standard freight; it is a 29-ton work of art with a fixed delivery window and the need to arrive in pristine condition. Our teams across two continents coordinated a multimodal solution including road transport, ocean freight, customs clearance, and delivery so the artist can rebuild and present his experience at Burning Man.”
This project demonstrates CEVA’s ability to manage highly specialized logistics for culturally significant, time-sensitive, and technically demanding shipments. In addition to Eiffela Broken Dream, CEVA and its parent company, CMA CGM Group, also orchestrated the transatlantic transport of another iconic masterpiece from France to Washington, D.C. The nine-foot bronze Statue of Liberty was produced from the 1878 plaster original of Auguste Bartholdi.
CEVA Logistics (CEVA), a global leader in third-party logistics, today announced that it has successfully transported Eiffela Broken Dream, a monumental art installation by French artist Philippe Maindron, from France to the United States for its debut at Burning Man, the iconic arts and culture event held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert from August 30 to September 7.
The large-scale installation depicts a fractured Eiffel Tower, measuring 30 meters long and 15 meters high, built from 29 tons of steel. Created in Rochetrejoux in France’s Vendée region, Eiffela Broken Dream was disassembled and shipped in two open-top containers and two equipment containers. CEVA managed the international logistics from western France to Nevada.
“Eiffela Broken Dream is the realization of a project I have imagined for years, and seeing it come to life has been an extraordinary human and artistic experience,” said Philippe Maindron, artist and creator of Eiffela Broken Dream. “I chose to fracture the Eiffel Tower in two to explore the tension between collapse and hope. The lower section evokes the remains of a lost civilization, while the soaring upper section reaches toward the sky as a symbol of resilience and the possibility of a brighter future. It was designed to be dismantled, transported, and rebuilt, but that does not make the journey simple. It is a complex structure with many numbered elements, and every detail matters. To bring it from France to Burning Man, I needed a logistics partner I can trust to handle the work with care and precision.”
In true Burning Man style, Eiffela Broken Dream is more than just a sculpture, it is an immersive performance. A cable stretches high above the desert across each half of the tower, where a tightrope walker is expected to cross between the fractured peaks, bringing the installation to life.
Transport began on May 6, when the artwork left Rochetrejoux by truck for the Port of Le Havre. The containers departed Le Havre by ocean vessel on May 14 and arrived at the Port of Oakland on June 25. After unloading the containers in Oakland, CEVA subsequently transported the installation by road to Reno, Nevada, before the final move to the Burning Man site. CEVA is responsible for the full scale of multimodal logistics, including the initial international sea transport, handling import-export customs formalities.
“Transporting Eiffela Broken Dream requires the same discipline and coordination CEVA brings to complex industrial and event logistics worldwide,” said Jesús Rogelio Garza, Head of Ground and Rail – North America, CEVA Logistics. “This is not standard freight; it is a 29-ton work of art with a fixed delivery window and the need to arrive in pristine condition. Our teams across two continents coordinated a multimodal solution including road transport, ocean freight, customs clearance, and delivery so the artist can rebuild and present his experience at Burning Man.”
This project demonstrates CEVA’s ability to manage highly specialized logistics for culturally significant, time-sensitive, and technically demanding shipments. In addition to Eiffela Broken Dream, CEVA and its parent company, CMA CGM Group, also orchestrated the transatlantic transport of another iconic masterpiece from France to Washington, D.C. The nine-foot bronze Statue of Liberty was produced from the 1878 plaster original of Auguste Bartholdi.
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