On February 15th, a new exhibition opened at DiXmiX Gallery, curated by Dixmix Source, is a small exhibition of art by Wiona L (dx61005). It’s a small but engaging exhibition located in the gallery’s Grey hall / foyer area.
Wiona describes herself as a “so-claimed SL photography enthusiast, wanderer,” Wiona undersells herself somewhat. the 12 images in this exhibition reveal a photographer of talent. Avatar studies these may well be, but the majority of them have such a playful, natural air about them, they present themselves very much as pictures taken “in the moment”, rather than being painstakingly posed to give the appearance of being so. This alone makes this exhibition perhaps different to others that have been offered at DiXmiX.
Take Lets Go To The Pier and I Can Hear The Autumn, for example. The former (seen above) has a wonderful air of intimacy about it; an image caught by one part of a couple who are out and enjoying their time together, so much so that you can almost hear the title being exclaimed in delight by the blonde-haired woman, with its accompanying laughter as they run to the pier in question.
Meanwhile, I Can Hear The Autumn alongside it (and to the left of the top image) presents an image of a gentle moment from someone’s afternoon: a young girl resting in the warmth of a lowering sun after a long and satisfying ride, her bicycle resting against the verandah rail on which she sits. It’s a moment of quiet intimacy captured whilst she was lost in thought and unaware of the camera’s presence.
Only the two large images in the collection break with this idea of moments of natural expression caught by the eye of an unknown photographer. While they bare witness to the same artistry and skill as the other ten images in the collection, they nevertheless have more of a feeling of being purposefully posed to achieve the desired shot, rather than being a purely happen-stance moment caught in time. I say this not in any way as a criticism of either picture, but rather out of the fact that they do stand apart from the rest – hence why, perhaps, they are displayed across the foyer from the rest of the exhibit.
But that is a purely personal view. There is no doubting this is an engaging exhibition, rich with story, beautifully presented and well worth taking the time to visit.
SLurl Details
- DiXmiX Gallery (Bay Port, rated: Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 