Nowhere

Radical self-expression... What the hell is that? It sounds great... But what does it mean? And how do you express it at Nowhere?

Well... that’s for you to figure out! Radical self-expression is one of the core principles behind Nowhere and Burning Man, and it’s one of the aspects I find most interesting...

When I first went to Burning Man, I went on my own, knew no one, and knew nothing other than what I’d learned from scouring the website and chatting to a few Burners at festivals. I’d heard about participation, and radical self-expression, and I had no idea what I was meant to be doing with them! I’m definitely a behind the scenes kind of person, I’m in no way a performer, so I couldn’t see how I could participate by singing or fire juggling or hooping or whatever... and as for radical self- expression (which as far as I could see from photos involved wandering around naked or in crazy costumes), well I’m a redhead, I burn, and I’d never enjoyed fancy dress parties... Help!

My first year at Burning Man, I opted to stick to what I felt comfortable with, rather than what I assumed was expected (hey, it’s self-expression, just not so radical!) I did urban hippy during the day and got slightly weirder at night – and for the Burn, I pulled out all the stops and wore my kimono – crazy! I also had amazing chats with people, laughed and cried with complete strangers, gifted, hugged, smiled, danced... Beautiful moments that perfectly expressed who and what we are.

The next year I went back and decided to put some serious thought into what ‘radical self-expression’ does mean to me... As a person, I feel I live my life fairly true to myself – I’m happy, friendly, open minded – and if you’re doing something I don’t feel comfortable with, I’ll probably just leave you to it and move on... Many people don’t live their ‘default’ lives being true to themselves though, and radical self-expression is a chance for them to live truer, be more honest, get a bit kinky, let down some of the barriers, whatever they may be...

And as for costumes... Once I really got my head around being in a safe space where I can play without judgement, the fun began! My costumes aren’t the craziest, but they express me – I love the feel of long skirts, hence I wear lots of long, flowing things – it feels really sexy! (And it stops me getting sunburnt!) When I was a kid, my mum was always begging me to ‘dress more like a lady’ (which, of course, I always refused to do!) so now I really enjoy exploring that side of myself – and it’s given me my playa name, Lady Belle. I love the juxtaposition of wearing a ballgown in the desert, so I wear lots – one year, I really fancied being blindingly gold and sparkly, so I made myself a gold sequin ballgown... And once I started playing like this, I remembered how much I’d loved dressing up as a kid – how could I have forgotten that!? Happily, my dressing-up box now is even bigger than the one I had then!

Costumes aren’t for everyone, shamanic journeys aren’t for everyone, erotic life drawing isn’t for everyone, kissing random strangers isn’t for everyone – but ‘radical self-expression’ is the freedom to explore, to find out in a safe way what works for you.

How do you want to express ‘you’?

Carole whom you may also be familiar with as Lady Belle brings her sparkle and shine to Nowhere not only as a participant, but year round as a volunteer, sending you your monthly Nowhere Newsletters, and by doing a host of things to keep the wheels of Nowhere communications oiled and turning. You can reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it