Month: January 2022

I first encountered the physical world photography of Hermes Kondor back in 2020, when he presented a magnificent select of photographs centred on the Tejo Power Station, Lisbon, Portugal, one of the country’s great heritage centres and home to the Electricity Museum (see: The beauty of steam machines in Second Life).

I was, to say the least, immediately smitten by his work: his use of lighting, colour, composition, together with an avoidance of post-processing, these were images inherently and natural captivating. As such, while his focus within Second Life since that time has been establishing the Kondor Arts Centre as a multi-facet arts hub, I have always been excited when I learn that he is exhibiting his own work in-world.

And so, while I could not make the opening at Eviana Raider’s Vibes Gallery, I was keen to hop over and visit It’s All About the Sea as soon as life offered me the time to fully immerse myself in Hermes’ latest exhibition.

For almost our entire history, humankind has had a relationship with the sea. It has been a source of food, a vast spread of blue that has called us to try to reach across its far horizon to touch whatever might lay beyond; it has romanced us with its mysteries and terrified us with it power, It has challenged our urge to conquer and master – if ever we could master so powerful and capricious a force. But, we have also sailed the seas of the world, and learned to harness their power; we have received their bounty and sought to use their power and beauty as a means to partake of sport.

All of this is very much captured in this exhibition, which Hermes has cleverly split into three individual sections within the gallery’s three halls, allowing him to bring forth specific elements of our relationship with the sea.

Within hall 7, Hermes presents Sea & Waves, a magnificent series of 11 photographs focused on the rolling power of breakers and whitecaps as they hurl themselves through the coastal shallows to batter and strike the shore. These are the kind of waves that are fearsome yet fascinating; the directly represent the sheer power the sea holds – and in a way, it’s anger at land’s temerity in trying to confront it and stem its ebb and flow; an action which is at times foolhardy: as the fine grains of sand that form the beaches of our coastlines and island reminds us, the sea is both patient and relentless, and given time, she will wear land down.

In some of these images we can see beyond the curl of wave and sweep of foam to a glittering expanse of ocean stretching out to hazy horizons of the kind that have called to us throughout time to reach towards and beyond. These views are further underscored by the opening stanza of Emily Dickenson’s And if the Sea Should Part underscores the inherent challenge offered by these waves and those far horizons.

In Hall 8, reached via a connecting walkway, the study of waves and the idea of challenge continue, but are presented in an entirely different manner. Here, within a further eleven images, we are presented with Surfer, simply stunning images of surfers taking on and using the power of waves, riding them from initial roll through to where the water repeatedly kisses the shore before retreating once more to re-gather its strength. Thus, through these images, Hermes carries us to a place where our relationship with the sea is bound within the sporting challenge of trying to master its power and demonstrate skill and artistry within its rolling thunder; a love affair between Man and wave that is again carefully amplified through the words of Fernando Pessoa.

The images in Halls 7 and 8 are utterly captivating not only for their subject matter, but in the sheer skill Hermes has used in taking them. The clarity with which he has captured roiling white anger of wave crests as they curl over deep blue-green troughs; and retained the natural blue-green colour of the troughs themselves that call forth thoughts of the depths of the oceans is just stunning, as is the clarity with which Hermes has caught the faces of the surfers. Nor is that all; looking at these pictures one cannot help but hear the roaring boom of the sea’s coastal voice and feel the fine spray of salt carried from wave tops to shore on the accompanying winds.

Across the courtyard in Hall 9, is a series of 15 images that are again utterly masterful in their framing, colour and focus. Beach Workers differs somewhat from Sea & Waves and Surfers, as there is very much a narrative flow to the 15 pieces within it; a story of the sea and its place in our lives as a source of livelihood and of sustenance – and not just for humans. To the left, on entering the hall are five images depicting the life and work of coastal fishermen, taking to the sea against the rolling and split of early-morning waves to cast their nets to seek whatever bounty the waters below might yield, before returning as the Sun lowers itself towards the horizon, and the work of taking the catch and clearing / drying the nets begins.

This is a story that continues through the five images to the right of the hall’s entrance, where the work gains interlopers in the form of gulls and seabirds, perhaps alerted by the commotion on the beach and the scent of fish carried in the breeze, and who have arrived to see what they might get away with helping themselves to. Both of these arms of the gallery then give way to the final five images to the rear, where the fishermen and their wives, their work now done for the day, have mostly retreated from the sands to leave them free for the birds to claim, together with whatever thy might find forgotten or ignored by the fisher folk.

Each and every one of these images is utterly extraordinary in the depth of life it contains, be it aboard the little boats, pushed from the sands and riding their way over the incoming breakers or the swirling, fluttering masses of gulls wheeling in to seek their share of food. Within each picture again, not only is there a beauty of an individual scene, there is a rich suggestion of sound and smell that lifts each one from the level of a “mere” picture to a complete experience / story of life.

With its three interwoven but unique elements, It’s All About the Sea is not only a magnificent celebration of the sea and our relationship with it; it is a triumphal tour de force of the eye and hand of a truly gifted photographer and an exhibition not to be missed.

SLurl Details

• Vibes Gallery (Isola Del Giglio, rated: Adult)

Rain.

I always wait for the rain, that thin, cold, bright … pleasant rain.
I remember that day on the path in the birch forest. The rain
was falling light, cold, illuminated by sunbeams, a light mist
rising from the ground. Motionless to admire, my memories 
were born then among white clouds, white cloud of sheets.

With these words, Terrygold introduces us to her January 2022 art exhibition Rain. In some respects, it is another personal exhibit that follows on from Empty Chairs (see: Terrygold’s Empty Chairs: remembrance in Second Life), offering a story that touches on both Terrygold’s art and life.

From the above introduction, we are led along a passage suggestive of that path through the birch woods. It leads us past elements that add depth and presence to itself, delivering us to places where a story unfolds through images and words. As with Empty Chairs a part of the theme here circles around the fact of loss; unlike Empty Chairs, however, Rain doesn’t just encompass the impact of the permanent loss of those around us – although it certainly starts that way.

Rather, Rain provokes us into considering how a personal loss can shape us; isolating us as we respond to the loneliness it imbues by rejecting the contact and affection of others; how the pain of loss causes a retreat that  – whilst we may not be conscious of it as the time – results in an experience of further loss.

At the same time, also wrapped within this is an exploration of time and how it, too, influences and changes us; the fact that of everything in life, time is our one constant companion. It marks the steps of our lives, the changes we experience. From the loss of those we love, through our other growth from childhood through to adulthood, it marks our desire to escape, whilst also offering what can be a warm / cold memory of those childhood years.

This is a poignant, personal journey, exquisitely frame in terms of setting, props and Terrygold’s images, marvellous self portraits  that express the emotions and feelings captured within the words and setting. These are pieces of extraordinary minimalism, extraordinary creativity and framing, and extraordinary depth.

I love to take pictures by creating my own photographic set and using exclusively tools that Second Life provides without any kind of external editing.

– Terrygold describing her art

But to think the monochrome nature at forms the main aspect of Rain is a walk through loneliness or depression would be a mistake. There is a narrative here that brings together the ideas of loss, time and growth, that brings us towards acceptance and peace / understanding; self-recognition that – if I might barrow from T.S. Eliot –  times past and times present combine to paint our path into the future.

This latter aspect is beautifully illustrated in the final area within Rain, where the wild grass of the floor bursts forth in colours that are also reflected in the final set of Terrygold’s pictures. They bring with us the suggestion of warmth and comfort, a realisation that while we may still feel the coldness of loss and the rain of tears, there is still much in live that can bring warmth and colour.

Perfectly designed and executed, Rain is another fascinating walk through the art and mind of a talented artist and photographer.

SLurl Details

• Terrygold Art Gallery – Rain (Peaceful Land, rated Adult)