
On display at Tabula Rasta’s Gallery 24 is some of work by Kerupa Flow. Entitled The Portraits of Kerupa Flow Unveiled, it presents a series of the artist’s real life portraiture brought into Second Life and offered as a cosy exhibition curated by Kayly Igali.
“I am a Japanese artist. The art you see here was made on a computer, using a pen tablet,” Kerupa says of her work. “SL allows me to display my art in its purest form. Digital data is revealed via graphic pixels. SL helps make my art come alive, makes it real, more even than in 1st life, because to show it there I would have to transform it, by printout or posting on the web. Here I can upload and it is a real life experience inside SL. I find that so exciting!”

The result is a collection of largely black-and white drawings and images spread across the front floors of the gallery. Most of them stand-alone, but within which sits a fascinating examination of the artist’s creative process at work. It commences with a simple androgynous portrait, dated July 2007, which progresses through to a finished” image – only for Kerupa to later return to it and continue working with it. You can see the study in brief in the image at the top of this piece – but an up-close look is recommended.
What makes this set of images particularly interesting, is that the artist presents a series of comments alongside the pictures. These not only serve to illustrate how the image developed over the passage of time, but also offers insight into Kerupa’s evolving relationship with the individual within it, the latter’s expression and the emotions it conveys serving to influence Kerupa’s own responses with each iteration of the work. The result is a lovely narrative leading from initial sketch to a final painting.

As noted, this is a small, but fascinating display of an artist’s work – and one I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. My only regret is that I missed the opportunity to hear the artist talk about her work on September 14th.
SLurl Details
- The Portraits of Kerupa Flow Unveiled (Rated: Moderate)