Prophecy

20" high x 17" wide
mixed media

"Prophecy" - "They" didn't realize that "It" had finally happened. Their elders had predicted this event generations ago. The tribe had songs and dances telling of the explosion of the mountain and all the ensuing tragedies. Every year they would pray and think about making certain preparations in case this happened; but they never did. They really didn't know how, and had such a difficult life providing for themselves and their families, that anything extra for something so far fetched seemed a waste of good time. So they lived their daily lives...birthing, dying, laughing, crying, and looking with wonder at the huge mountain towering off in the distance. Every sundown and every morning at sunrise they would honor their gods with prayer, and always within the prayers were chants to save them from the evil volcano.
This afternoon, hell opened up and the devil finally got his way. The volcano erupted and a huge spew of flame and ash began to cover their beloved island. They ran, they knew not where, frantically searching for some safe place. However, there was no "safe place" on this island. Some fell, exhausted, and waited for death. Others became delirious running in circles. It was just a matter of time until the flames and molten lava would cover them and their island. The prophecy of their ancestors was finally coming true. All were doomed.

What they didn't know was that their small disaster was just a minute example of what the entire world was simultaneously experiencing. Just as predicted, "The button" had been pressed and life on this planet would never be the same. The volcanic eruption was only one small disaster in this tiny area of the world. The rest of earth was convulsing, erupting and collapsing from within. People all over the earth were scrambling to safety. The world was in chaos. The prophets were true. Unfortunately.