Entirely Hollow Aside from the Dark

About

3 - 7 September 2019 | 8.45pm and 10.00pm
Creswell Crags
Tickets are £9 and can be can be booked online - please click on the website link above.

This immersive sound installation set in the darkness of Creswell's caves will bring a whole new experience to the visitors. Join one of the five special evenings in one of Creswell Crags' caves, and experience the pitch-black caves become the setting for an audio artwork by the visual and environmental artist -  AlanJames Burns.

The installation takes visitors inside one of the caves at Creswell Crags after dark – the exclusive experiences run at 8.45pm and 10.00pm from 3 – 7 September. Visitors will hear a unique soundscape that personifies the voice of Mother Earth as she struggles with her worsening mental health, brought on by people. In the darkness, an audible inner dialogue echoing Mother Earth's thoughts and regrets unfolds and a symphony of choreographed sounds shifts around the cave mirroring processes of the human mind. The ever-shifting audio brings the dark cave to life, breathing and talking as you stand inside.

The event is only suitable for over 16s, and is not suitable for anyone with claustrophobia or fear of the dark. Appropriate sturdy footwear and outdoor clothing suitable for the weather conditions on the day is advised. Torches will be provided. The audio presentation lasts around 20 minutes, with the whole visit expected to take around 40 minutes.

"This is a remarkable experience, which starts immediately as visitors arrive at the visitor centre in the dark, and by torchlight make their way down to the cave in near silence except for the sounds of wildlife and water flowing into the lake." comments Alan, who is hoping to repeat the sell-out success of Entirely Hollow Aside from the Dark tour in Ireland.

The darkness provides visual sensory deprivation, which prompts the participant to focus on other senses like hearing and smell, intensifying the perception of the sound. Created by AlanJames Burns in collaboration with writer Sue Rainsford and sound editor Ian Dunphy, the poignancy of the message is heightened by the choice of cave in which visitors will experience the installation: this is the same cave where that UK's largest discovery of 'witch marks' in the country was discovered just last year, by the entrance to a hole that generations may have considered to be a gateway to the underworld.

"These apotropaic marks were scratched and carved into stone to ward off evil or misfortune, so it is likely that generations of local families visited over many years – an ancient ritual of its own," comments Paul Baker, executive director of Creswell Crags. "This discovery made headlines across the world, and we are delighted that it has inspired Alan to share his work with us and our visitors. This promises to be an intense and thought-provoking audio experience, with a limited number of participants on each tour, so we'd encourage early booking before it sells out."