Day: February 13, 2021

Considering No Futur in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
No Futur, Kondor Art Centre, February 2021

Currently open at the Into the Future Gallery of Hermes Kondor’s Kondor Arts Centre, is an exhibition by Caly Applewhyte entitled No Futur. The easiest way to describe this exhibition is to use Caly’s own description:

No  Futur [is] a very French expression that refers to the uncertain future of our world. this exhibition is an illustration of this idea that our world seems to be running to its ruin with our madness of “progress”.
We are constantly trying to do better or more … more technology, more biotechnology, more money of course … but in the end, we may wonder if we are not doing worse. What we are experiencing today is only a bad start if our powerful political and industrial leaders do not realise that economic growth at all costs is only a countdown … game over.

– Caly Applewhyte

No Futur, Kondor Art Centre, February 2021

Given this description, it is clear that this is an exhibition that has a sombre lean. It might also be thought that given Caly’s words, it focuses on issues of the political-industrial complex that – as Caly notes – is pulling us towards possible destruction. However, this latter view would be in error.

Rather than focusing on political indifference (and / or denial) and industries that continue to find the needs of board room returns of a higher priority than that of committing more fully to ethical, environmentally friendly means of doing business, these are pieces that focus on  the individual, either directly or indirectly. This makes them far more personal in nature, with all of them carrying a distinct lean towards matters of ecology and the environment, and the damage we are doing to it through pollution and climate change.

Gas masked, often in an environment suit, sometimes an adult at others more child-like, the figures within these pieces are set within environments where it is clear the air is no longer if to breathe and monuments crumble in a toxic environment. There are figures that walk deserted streets, who even when indoors need isolated pods and / or continue use of masks to assist with breathing. In some, eyes stare out at us in pleading, in others that stare wistfully at a world they can no longer freely share, or who hug rocks they can no longer feel thanks to the separating barrier of an environment suit.

No Futur, Kondor Art Centre, February 2021

With only a single figure in each image, these are all pieces that also emphasise our essential isolation from the world.  We’ve allowed ourselves to be cut off from it through the technology Caly notes and the creature comforts of modern life; we’ve created metaphorical barriers between ourselves and nature. All of which appears to be referenced as well, through the use of fences within several of the images.

Sombre it may be, but No Futur is nevertheless rich in expression, message and artistry.

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Exploring The Redwoods of Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Redwoods, February 2021

Designed by Julia Dagger (JuliaTrouble) and occupying a Mainland sky platform The Redwoods offers people a chance to escape to a corner of Second Life devoted to nature in the form of a setting that might have been lifted from southern California’s Sequoia National Park.

It is a location that is exceptionally easy on the eye where, thanks to the design and the sound scape, it is possible to genuinely lose oneself in a sense of being deep within Nature’s realm. It’s also – on the surface at least – easy to explore; but as with many things in Second Life, actually holds a secret.

The Redwoods, February 2021

Tucked into the south-east corner of the setting and almost entirely ringed by cliffs, the landing point offers a map marking the the park and its trails. While in keeping with the sense of being within a national park, this map and the others like it aren’t really necessary, as the trails through the landscape are clearly and pleasantly laid out, complete with logs to form natural steps down and over the slopes and undulating ground.

A short distance from the landing point, the path divides, one arm running both north and west to where the lake sits, an open space within the the tall sequoia trees, both fed by and feeding the park’s streams. Around the lake’s shores can be found benches on which to sit, and a camp site tucked into the shade of the trees, while a boat and a deck offer over-the-water places to sit as well.

The Redwoods, February 2021

The second branch of the track runs along the edge of the stream that feeds into the lake, and which is in turn fed by waterfalls to the north-east. This stream largely splits the land in two, separating the main trails through the trees from the park’s lodge.

An expansive structure, reached by way of two bridges over the stream, the lodge offers indoor and outdoor seating and the kind of information counter one might expect in such a place. It’s a cosy place to rest and / or appreciate the local comings and goings and is overlooked by a small cabin sitting on a square block of rock. With no visible means of getting up to it, I assume the latter is a private retreat, rather than a further space for visitors to spend time, and so we didn’t investigate it further.

The Redwoods, February 2021

As noted above, the setting is easy on the eye and easy to explore, whether on foot or on the back of a wearable horse – but it does have a secret, one that is best found on foot. Tucked away completely out of sight is a little bar. Of an unusual design, you’ll have to search for it to find it, and I don’t want to give its location away. Suffice it to say, walk as far as you think you can, and then go through the precipitous curtain beyond the log camp – just mind the first step!

In days when we can too easily feel as if home life is closing in around us, and walls too close for comfort, The Redwoods offers a sense of pushing those walls back and presenting us with a chance to appreciate woodland walks and the sensations of witnessing sunlight through high branches, the call of clear flowing water always close by.

The Redwoods, February 2021

In short, it presents a sense of freedom and escape, whether you wander the trails, sit in one of the camp sites our tuck yourself away within a hammock under the trees, thus making it a perfect visit.

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