August Art at the Park in Second Life

Saturday, August 5th marks the opening on the August edition of Art at the Park at Holly Kai Park, which run through until Sunday, September 3rd.

The artists who have accepted our invitations to display at the park through the month are: Dido Haas, Cecilia Nansen Mode and Jes Mode, Wintergeist and our 3D artist for the month, Diamond Marchant. You can read more about them below.

The opening of the exhibition will be marked by a party, with Joy Canadeo providing the music from 2:00pm SLT onwards. The dress code is smart / formal, and we invite all those so minded to attend.

About the Artists

Dido Haas

Dido really needs no introduction, as words simply aren’t enough to describe her. She’s a long-standing artist in Second Life, having enjoyed her first public exhibition of her work in 2012. Not long afterwards, she and her partner, Nitro Fireguard started the Nitroglobus gallery, with Dido taking on the role of gallery curator and manager, although she and Nitro both showed their work there.

Nitroglobus quickly built a reputation as one of the foremost galleries in Second Life, and it was through visiting the exhibitions there that I first met Dido. She has a gift for finding some of the most unique talents in Second Life and getting them to exhibit, and I’ve long enjoyed covering her exhibitions at the gallery in these pages.

Sadly, Nitro passed away in 2015, bringing the original Nitroglobus gallery to a close. However, Dido continues to curate art exhibitions through Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, which continues to host some incredible exhibitions, as well as commemorating Nitro himself through the display of many of his mesh sculptures. The gallery also continues to be the home of music events every Sunday at the Nitroglobus Cafe. Between managing all that, Dido continues with her own photography, and we’re delighted to have her at Holly Kai Park.

You can see more of her work on her Flickr stream.

Cecilia Nansen Mode and Jes Mode – “the Modes”

I first encountered the work of Cecilia Nansen Mode and Jes Mode almost simultaneously, if quite coincidentally at two separate exhibitions in the same month. Jes was exhibiting at DixMix Gallery, and Cecilia at Artful Expressions, run by my dear friend, Sorcha Tyles. I was immediately struck by their art, and discovering they are SL partners encouraged me not only to invite them to exhibit at the park, but to ask that they do so together as a part of our occasional “partners” invitations.

For the August exhibition, they’ve taken this invitation quite literally, and are presenting a joint exhibition under the title One Love, One Life. Across the two display areas, “the Modes” display images of a loving relationship which has forging a shared passion for photography. They are a combination of the cold North and the warm South. The dramatic and the calm. The expressive and the subtle. Together they are tied by a deep and profound connection, which shows in their pictures, both when working together, as well as individually.

Jes has a history of photography in RL with some knowledge as well as experience. He restarted after some years as a photographer, this time in SL and is slowly finding his own style and personal expression, with mainly black and white pictures. Cecilia started a little over a year ago as a SL photographer and is slowly finding her own style, still experimenting and learning day by day. Together they support, mentor, teach and are each others first filter of approval in a balance of synergy and seeing each other grow.

If you are interested in seeing more from their work, please visit their Flickr streams:

• Jes Mode: https://www.flickr.com/photos/132061377@N02
• Cecilia Nansen Mode: https://www.flickr.com/photos/140272626@N08/

Diamond Marchant

Diamond Marchant is, in the physical world, a photographer and software developer. In SL, she creates boat and sail textures for the sailing community as well as numerous fishing products.

I first became aware of her interest in building models at SL13B, when she exhibited a Mars lander. For SL14B she was even more ambitious, building a simply stunning and exceptionally accurate model of NASA’s Cassini orbiter, which for the last 13 years has been adding immeasurably to our understanding of Saturn and its moons.

2017 is a special year for the Cassini mission, as it brings to an end the work of this remarkable probe, which has been in operation some 20 years from launch to the present day, including a 7-year journey from Earth to Saturn (by way of Venus, Earth and Jupiter). Right now Cassini is in the Grand Finale part of its mission, orbiting Saturn over its poles and repeatedly diving between the planet and the innermost of its magnificent rings. In September, not long after the exhibition at Holly Kai closes, Cassini, its manoeuvring fuel all but used up, will enter the upper reaches of Saturn’s atmosphere and burn up, forever becoming a part of the planet it has observed and studies for so long.

Of the model presented at Holly Kai – which is interactive (touch the probe itself and almost make sure you try the media links) – Diamond says, “Spacecraft modelling is a new thing for me. I was inspired to build the Cassini orbiter after seeing the 3D model on their website and noticing that the shapes on the orbiter are similar to the shapes you can make out of system prims.”

Wintergeist

Wintergeist, aka Fuyuko Amano, is both a photographer and gallery curator at the Club LA and Gallery. Her photographic work spans both the physical and digital worlds.  In the physical world, she started with photography when she was about 10, and it has remained a passion for her. When she started playing video games, she realised their potential for photography and started experimenting and developing an approach to digital imaging, which in turn led to her modding game environments and taking pictures of them.

Then she discovered Second Life. After initial resistance to it, she signed-up – and became immersed in SL photography.

“What do I like in pictures?” she asks rhetorically. “I do love colours – strong colours, contrast and a motif that is more than the simple ‘my avatar in front of fancy background’. Mostly I don’t know beforehand what kind of picture I want to do. When I see a motif, I get a vague idea of angle and composition and I try to capture that. Sometimes it works, but I am far from perfect. I haven’t reached my goal to make the perfect picture. I guess that is even something no one can achieve….. but, you can try.”

You can see more of her work at Galleria Amano, La Perla, and on her Flickr stream.

SLurl Details

• Holly Kai Park (Holly Kai Estates, rated: Moderate)