Hollow Earth RAM Exhibition: Response

The End Is Nigh

In a cave safe, safe in a cave, fire warming the dark chill stillness. Fire shadows dance and give us life down here. It is a place of refuge, no place else safe to go. Outside the cave the area is patrolled by The Projects forces who are on the lookout for non-members. I am one. I am one of a small number of surviving rebels who reject The Projects ideals. The Projects forces are forcing what remains of the human race into one small enclosure so that any resistance, any alternative thoughts, to their ideas can be squashed and quashed.

The cave with its concealed entrance, its about 2 feet wide, is a sanctuary for those of ‘wandering tendencies’ to meet. The cave and its tunnels have been used for thousands of years. The drawings and markings on the wall are a history of its inhabitants telling the stories of the people who gathered here. The oldest markings perhaps showing long extinct herbivores and carnivores. Hand prints of men, women and children playfully marked in ochre. More recently there are maps of the caves labyrinth of tunnels, layouts of The Projects enclosures showing where the food stores are situated. There is also debris, flints used to hunt and clubs and spears for defence. There is an armoury now with weapons for killing other project re-educated humans and destroying The Project ‘Dancers’ who patrol, brainwashed and zombie like, hunting down us rebels. The Project technicians have twisted ideas of how civilisation can progress. Any rebels that are caught, if they are not murdered immediately, are put through a programme of indoctrination. Firstly blindfolded for days, only with enough food to just about survive. They are interrogated viciously after which The Project begin the process of re-education. The only chance of survival is to become totally educated. The test is to be able to murder a rebel.

We are the descendants of Extinction Rebellion who’s marks also cover some of the walls. The walls have been redrawn with each new need for refuge, refuge from dangerous animals and a refuge from dangerous humans.

The cave system has several entrances in fact some more accessible than others. They are a secret from most rebels, who, when there is a significant need to gather are led here blindfolded, eyes darkened so they can’t reveal its location, even if questioned and tortured by The Project Dancers.

Today is particularly tense. Us rebels have called a meeting to begin to map out a strategy for the next assault against The Project. To fill you in The Project is in our view, the failed Industrial Project. It began in the mid 1700s with the escalation of fossil fuel burning and extracting every possible earthy resource. Here we are year 2150 and The Project has moved to the point of realising that the human race will die out. They have created machines whose intelligence can be inhabited by the human soul. This gives the machine abilities to continue for ever. They have created a machine that can advance its technology with every new generation transferring the souls each time. Which ever souls survive the extinction of the real life, will forever inhabit one of those monstrous machines. There is no need for any new life. At the end of life there will be no need for new life.

So here we are in our cave, fires burning, crackling brightening the darkness. It is so reassuring to see strong people, strong willed, with strong intentions.

We are planning a massive action. We intend destroying the main energy production facility. It will be difficult and dangerous but we have to succeed. We are determined, we have no choice. We are prepared to sacrifice ourselves to save life on earth.

As inspiration for this dystopian piece I would like to acknowledge

Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky (1979). This film with dark and frightening imagery creates an atmosphere of foreboding and tension.

Michelangelo Frammartino Il Buco (2021) The labyrinth of tunnels and caves are inspiration for the hideout of the Rebels