This weekend marks the start of BURN2, the Second Life sister celebration to Burning Man.
This year, BURN2 is spread over a total of four sims, in a suitable desert theme, surrounded by sandy hills that add to the atmosphere of the event. I’ve already outlines the first couple of days of events that are going on at BURN2 (subject to final calendar adjustments), and this week I had the opportunity to tour the sims and see what they have in sort by way of builds.
Featured Artists
BURN2 features displays by a number of invited artists, and I decided to start my wanderings by seeking out their work. The first wasn’t hard to find, given I’ve had the advantage of seeing it in preparation while interviewing her.
Claudia222 Jewell
Claudia222 Jewell’s completed The Sacrifice. It is a truly stunning piece of work, that plays fully on the visual senses in a very dramatic manner.
Find Claudia on the map.
Rebeca BashlyRebeca has time on her mind and the passing of life with her piece, I Said I Will!
Find Rebeca on the map.
Oberon OnmuraOberon Onmura presents Inculcation. This is hard to describe, but is fascinating to watch.
Find Oberon on the map.
RAG RandtStill a work-in-progress when I sneaked a peek, RAG Randt’s piece looks a lot of fun.
Find RAG on the map.
Starlash SweetwaterStarlash presents, Identity, a wonderfully enticing piece. Enjoy and experience!
Find Starlash on the map.
Trill ZapateroTrill Zapatero’s Grail Quest is a magnificent piece by day, and beautifully illuminated by night. The piece represents, “The Fool’s journey to the end of the universe and back., through all the pitfalls and trials of identity and desire, to death and beyond, through the gauntlet of useless rusty grails offered up by religion and ideology, through a modernist purgatory, and into the heart and soul of the crumbling grail castle reclaimed by nature and love. all steps along the way leading to the ultimate discovery of the true grail.”
Find Trill on the map.
The Temple
The BURN2 temple is an exquisite design by Damanios Thetan that blends arches, curves and spires together beautifully. As someone who has a deep affinity for Sri Lanka, I couldn’t help but see something of the Stupors of places like Anaradhapura.
Visit the temple at BURN2.
Impressions
BURN2 isn’t as big as SL8B, obviously, but that doesn’t mean it lacks for content. There are some amazing and thought-provoking pieces throughout, and one can wander at will along the wheel-rutted tracks around the sims, or choose a more convenient mode of transport – such as a tour balloon that will waft you around under the power of a propeller rather than leaving it simply to the wind…
The desert theme and campfire feel has been nicely captured – although I can’t help but feel the windlight and sky could do with a Touch of Torley to add to the ambience.
Signs on exhibits were still going on when I took my wander (personal commitments mean I’m missing the official press / blogger preview), so it was hard to understand what some were about in relation to the event’s theme of Rites of Passage. Perhaps some simply don’t have a deeper meaning. Some were certainly fun walking through / over / in!
If there is one complaint to be levelled at all on the sims it is going to be the inevitable lag. Even with *just” the exhibitors and helpers and staff on the sims, it was pretty horrendous. Sculpties abound through many of the exhibits and undoubtably contribute to issues, as does the potentially high script count in some pieces. As those familiar with this blog will know, I’m a confirmed Firestorm user, and I’ve encountered very few crash issues in the months I’ve been using it (few as in less than half-a-dozen); yet during two visits to BURN2 totalling around 90 minutes, I experienced no fewer than nine Viewer crashes. Viewer 3 also crashed on me twice, and even Phoenix had issues.
Nevertheless, and while I’ll miss most of the opening weekend, I’ll be back at BURN2 next week seeing what is going on where and when!
Burning the Man and the Temple
These two events, central to BURN2 have been scheduled to suit major timezones as follows:
- Burning of the Man – Europe, Saturday October 8th
- Gather: 11:00 SLT
- Burn: 11:30 SLT
- Burning of the Man – USA, Saturday October 8th
- Gather: 19:00 SLT
- Burn: 19:30 SLT
- Burning the Man – Australia / Asia, Sunday October 9th
- Gather: 03:00 SLT
- Burn: 03:30 SLT
- Burning of the Temple – Europe, Sunday October 9th
- Gather: 11:00 SLT
- Burn: 11:30 SLT
- Burning of the Temple – USA, Sunday October 9th
- Gather: 19:00 SLT
- Burn: 19:30 SLT
- Burning of the Temple – Australia / Asia, Monday October 10th
- Gather: 03:00 SLT
- Burn: 03:30 SLT
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 