Rydal Caves 
Jen Southern 

The conversation took place in the evening at caves formed by historical mining activities above Rydal water in Cumbria. Before going into the cave I read a page from N.K. Jemisin’s ‘The Fifth Season’, a novel in which some people have an extra sense that allows them to feel the textures and movements inside rocks.

It can be challenging to keep a good network connection when using Zoom from outdoor landscapes, and I wanted to purposefully use the breakdown of signal to ‘feel’ the density of the rock as I moved into the cave, to use the uncertainty of network connection as an extra sense. As I gradually moved in and out of signal the image of the rock kept breaking down for those at a distance, becoming blurry and almost impressionistic. Through trial and error, back tracking to pick up signal and trying again, walking to and fro multiple times, we were able to discuss a sense of the depth of the cave, the impossibility of clear communication, the unknown of the dark blurr, and the ability the signal had to express something about the rock.