Day: December 8, 2016

Giovanna’s sky harbour in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Last Harbour: sky platform
The Last Harbour: sky platform

In July 2016, Giovanna Cerise invited me to explore The Lost Harbour, her (then) new gallery space in Second Life, shortly before it opened to the public (see here). Occupying the north-east corner of a region, it’s a superb open-air exhibit space, and Giovanna recently extended it with the introduction of a new skyborne section, which can be reached via an Anywhere Door at The Last Harbour’s landing point  (just follow the arrows on the floor to the door), or alternatively, you can teleport directly to it.

The extension continues the theme found at the gallery’s ground level, offering a series of platforms on which elements and reproductions of Giovanna’s 3D installations are displayed, with her 2D work occupying panelled wall sections mirroring some of the floor areas on the ground level.

The Last Harbour: sky platform
The Last Harbour: sky platform

Of particular note to me on my arrival were two scale reproductions of elements from Giovonna’s Monochrome (open until the end of December 2016 and which I reviewed here), and her Ice Castle, which recently formed a part of her display at Holly Kai Park (see here). All of the pieces are offered for sale to the collector, and included a scripted resizer.

As a long-time admirer of Giovanna’s work, I can only say that the sky platform is a superb extension to The Last Harbour, offering an excellent reason for a re-visit  – or for those who have not taken the opportunity to drop in, to have twice the reason to jump over and enjoy Giovanna’s art.

The Last Harbour: sky platform
The Last Harbour: sky platform

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LHOOQ: coastal scenes in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ; Inara Pey, December 2016, on Flickr L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ – click any image for full size

I’ve been paying an annual visit to Lindini2 Lane’s home region and location for her store, L2 Studio, since 2012. She has always presented the region as a landscaped setting which changes with the seasons, open for people to explore and enjoy whether or not they are  seeking one of her house designs.

Previously located on a homestead region, Lindini2 has now expanded to a Full region, L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, and for those seeking a break from the snowy scenes of winter now appearing across the grid, it could be just the ticket. The move has given Lindini the chance to really flex her creative muscle, displaying her designs in a coastal setting, beautifully landscaped, with a demo rezzing area for her buildings high overhead.

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ; Inara Pey, December 2016, on Flickr L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ

Visitors using the main landmark arrive in the L2 Studio store in the south-east corner of the region. Just across the water from this, a set of steps lead up to a major new feature for Lindini’s land: the LHOO art gallery, currently displaying work by Jessica Belmer. To the north and west of this, the landscape becomes more rugged. Pine trees occupy rocky land cut by deep inlets, stone steps offering a way up onto their fingers, before the land falls away to a curving beach and narrow channel separating a sandy island from the rest of the landscape.

Within this setting can be found several of Lindini’s designs, set out in a manner suggestive of a small coastal community. Additional designs by Van Auster and others add to the natural feel to the setting, assisted by sheep grazing up on the craggy hills and horses wandering narrow trails, Cats can also be found here, keeping their eye on things, while a gentle, ambient soundscape completes the sense of immersion.

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ; Inara Pey, December 2016, on Flickr L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ

The landscape is designed to encourage exploration – getting from A to B sometimes isn’t as straightforward as might first appear; diversions around inlets and across beaches are required. This further adds to the feeling of this is a place, rather than a showroom, as does the way all of the houses have been carefully furnished.

Throughout the region there are places to sit  – indoor and out , on the ground and in the trees – little places to discover and a lot to photograph and enjoy. If I have a quibble at all, it might be that there’s perhaps a little too much; at times my system struggled mightily with rendering.

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ; Inara Pey, December 2016, on FlickrL2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ

Nevertheless, L2 Studio and LHOOQ Gallery offers a pleasing and eye-catching break from the wintry destinations we might otherwise drop into;  the only wintertime concession can be found on the beach to the north-east – and even that is made of sand rather than snow 🙂 .

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