Issue 66 / May 2016

Words: Christopher Torpey / @CATorp
Illustrations: The Invisible Wind Factory
ETERNAL ENERGY
In a part of the Vauxhall area around the north Liverpool
docks, there’s a place where gusts of wind blowing in off the
river seek you out with unerring inevitability. Streets of bleaklooking
factories and warehouses stalk this part of the city,
some forgotten remnants of industrial glory days, and some
housing new businesses that are bringing a renewed sense of
life to the area. I’ve taken the short trip out of town – and a big
step back in time – to Carlton Street, the heart of this former
manufacturing heartland, for a guided tour of a former factory
unit that once specialised in making wind turbines. After a short
wait, the rusting iron door in front of me opens, and I’m ushered
inside one of the most adventurous venue spaces in the whole
country: the INVISIBLE WIND FACTORY.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been inside this space: I was
here in December 2014 to witness its very first event, when
Dogshow played on a circular structure suspended 20ft above
the audience. It’s now the permanent home of the team behind
The Kazimier, and they’ve been plotting their various schemes
here for a while. Now operating as the Invisible Wind Factory,
the group of artists, scientists and experimenters are working
on the first phase of the IWF venue complex proper, an absurdly
ambitious project which is unlike anything ever constructed
before. This will manifest itself in the immersive spectacle of
OMPHALOS – ETERNAL ENERGY, the IWF’s launch event and
introduction to a whole new world.
“IWF believe the secrets of the universe will be
found in energy, frequency and vibration.”
I’m given a tour of the complex by one of the IWF team (no
names are exchanged), walking past a pile of assorted items
that is all that remains of The Kazimier club, through to the
workshop area. Here, various people (styled as IWF ‘operatives’)
are busy at benches and machinery, welding, sawing, grinding,
tinkering with absurdly complicated electronic equipment. The
adjoining wind factory venue itself is cavernous, and this is
where the Omphalos event will take place. Beginning on 19th
May and running over four days, each night will see the IWF team
take a group of 15-20 people on a two-hour promenade tour
through the facility, which will be divided into three sections: an
induction in the Visitor Centre, a ritualistic experience, and the
final experiment based round the Omphalos Eternal Conversion
Chamber, where the secrets of the team’s investigations into
the omnipresent eternal energy will be revealed. There’s also
a modular multi-course dining experience inspired by the IWF
team’s training regime on Saturday 21st May, for those who
want more of an insight into the process. There will also be an
Omphalos-flavoured launch party a week later in the venue, but
this doesn’t include any of the tour.
“The hypothesis of Invisible Wind proposed
that an unseen energy, radiating through
the ether could, if harnessed, hold
significant importance for humanity.”
In their explorations into the depths of collective
consciousness, the IWF team have happened upon an impressive
spiritual mythology. Ostensibly, their operatives began their
search by looking for the source of “invisible wind” – allegedly
the phenomenon that caused Dogshow’s suspended stage to
rotate when they played that opening night in 2014 – which the
team believe is a source of unseen energy radiating through
the ether. These investigations led them to the discovery of the
Extracted Energy
Four stages of extraction
Voided Energy
Four Terminals of Empyrean
Four Terminals of Khthon
Empyrean
Layers
Khthonic
Layers
Macrocosmic Flow: the movement of Invisible
Wind between the Empyrean World and our own.
Empyrean and Khthonic forces, positive and negative terminals
working from opposite ways towards the same goal – that of
harnessing invisible wind. For this event, the Invisible Wind
Factory becomes the navel of the world, where the heavenly
Empyreanaughts will meet with the underworld-dwelling
Khthonaughts in a struggle for the purest, most ancient form
of energy.
“Through our research we have come to a
profound realisation. From that realisation comes
an experience that must be shared. We invite you
to join us and take a journey into the Unseen.”
Disseminating information through a series of public service
information videos, the IWF team have slowly introduced us to
the world of this “secretive organisation” and “uncompromising
mission”. Through all their Kaizmier happenings, this team have
always structured their events around rich narratives, which give
rise to a flamboyant look and feel that is so convincing. The
insanely detailed layers of preparation in costume, set design
and content all take their cue from the extensive backstories
they concoct, and Omphalos is their boldest yet. This time the
narrative forms the exterior of the project, and they’re inviting
us to suspend our disbelief and step inside. As one of the
operatives tells me, “it’s all about the process”.
“Once inside the Omphalos you will
witness a manifestation of sound, light
and visions of unearthly potential.”
The chances are you still don’t really know what this
Omphalos event actually is; and, to be quite honest, I’m not
100% sure either. What I am sure of, however, is that it will be
an impressive spectacle of theatre, technology, lighting, music
and spirituality, a journey of discovery as much as an immersive
experience. The scale of the whole operation is baffling; epic
would be a suitable description of it, but I’m not even sure that
grasps the detail to which this team of experimenters have gone
in creating this experience. As Nietzsche himself said, “stare
long enough into the abyss and the abyss stares back at you.”
Disbelief duly suspended, I am willing to let the the eternal
energy of the Omphalos take me wherever I need to go.
Omphalos – Eternal Energy takes place at The Invisible Wind
Factory, Carlton Street, between 19th and 22nd May. On Friday
27th May there will be a launch party for the Invisible Wind Factory,
but this is not part of the Omphalos show. Book your ticket for
one of the shows now at thekazimier.co.uk.