I have been watching the redevelopment of Subcutan Art Gallery, home of the work of Sophie de Saint Phalle (Perpetua1010) since around early August 2023, following the gallery’s move from its form home to region-straddling parcels on the tip of Satori. As such, and with things now appearing largely complete, I thought it high time to write about a setting which is far more than just a gallery space, offering as it does opportunities for exploration, photography, relaxing and having a little fun.
My first encounter with Sophie’s work was in 2021 when she was exhibiting at Mareea Farrasco’s IMAGOLand Gallery. Featuring a collection of her physical world watercolours reproduced for display in Second Life, The Art of Water and Colours immediately led me to visit her original Subcutan gallery and immerse myself in her work (see: The art of Sophie de Saint Phalle in Second Life). As an artist, Sophie considers herself an experimentalist, and her work reflects this covering as it does multiple genres and styles, from watercolours through abstract and digital art to caricatures and skilled studies of the human form, and encompassing etching and 3D sculptures. Her work is both engaging and exquisite, never failing to capture the eye – and often the heart.
With the new Subcutan Art Gallery, Sophie has combined her artist’s eye with that of companion Dex (Dexter Kharg) to create an environment which both celebrates her art – including being able to re-visit installations such as Infinite, a marvellous celebration of indigenous Australian art (which I reviewed in February 2022), Cyborgs, a visual essay on a possible future for humanity (of which I wrote about here) and witness more of her studies of the human form – and to also immerse yourself in an setting which offers something of an east-meets-west fusion to offer a engaging opportunity for exploration and photography, as noted above. In this, a visit is not so much a visit to an art space so much as it is a delightful immersion into Sophie’s and Dex’s creative vision.
The campus – if I might refer to it that way – encompasses parts of two mainland coastal regions whilst just edging into a third. The first of these, Terric is home to Subcutan’s main landing point and welcome area. This presents a distinctly modern looks and feel and offers extensive public facilities: the welcome centre itself, occupying a purpose built structure by Dex and containing an office space and a large seating area of sofas supported by a self-service refreshments area whilst also presenting a mixed genre display of Sophie’s art, all of which is offered for sale. Outside of this is the landing point itself and the primary (Experience-driven, so be sure to accept any request it offers) teleport board.
Whilst the teleport board and its siblings around the location offer a quick way to hop around, with the exception of the board outside the main gallery, and which offers the only means to access all the gallery spaces, I’d recommend eschewing the teleports and let your feet do the walking when initially exploring, as there are elements of the location which might otherwise be missed – such as the Man Cave, a short walk between palm trees from the landing point. Occupying another custom build by Dex, this offers a games room and lounging area, complete with playable arcade games and table-top games, the latter including chess, backgammon and Mah-jong (the latter two being particular favourites of mine in the physical world, together with Carrom, despite the beating my nails have taken when getting a trifle over-enthusiastic when taking a shot!).
Above the welcome area and reached by three sets of stairs, is an outdoor events area with glass-floored dance area extending over the welcome area, swimming pool and open-air bar, the seating to which offers a view of the large aquarium below. This area also sits before what appears to be the private home of Sophie and Dex – so trespass is perhaps best avoided unless invited. Looking out to the north, this events area looks out of the Subcutan harbour area, the main wharf of which can be accessing from the landing point and leads by way of a wooden walkway at its western end (and passing by the stairway leading up to the main gallery) to the Japanese and Guest Harbours.
The Japanese waterfront area is an eclectic mix of false-front “businesses”, some of which have an adult lean to them (but only in appearance, not in content), whilst there is also a certain amount of humour on display (such as the “Safe Area” sign encouraging people to go swimming – as a shark circles the waters below, or the appropriately called “Small Shop”). Rich in neon lighting and lanterns, this is a little corner best seen at night; the waterfront can be a place for photography and offers the chance to try your hand at Japanese calligraphy.
Set above and back from the Japanese Harbour are the main gallery space and the Japanese Garden, again as noted above). The former comprises the Atramentum Gallery – a very neat play on words, given it is home to a richly engaging display of Sophie’s studies of the human form which are presenting in greyscale and on black mounts (complete with a black tiled footpath leading into the gallery). This entranceway is also home to a more extensive teleport board which allows visitors to partake of Sophie’s sky galleries, where as mentioned, her Infinite and Cyborgs installations can once again be appreciated, together with Red Impressions (an exhibition I witnessed on my very first visit to Subcutan, again as referenced above) and Yellow Expressions.
The Japanese Garden, meanwhile, offers an extensive opportunity to wandering and sitting, taking photos and / or simply relaxing. Split over two levels linked by a stone stairway curling down from one corner of the upper level, the gardens have been built using Alex Bader’s superb Zen Garden Building set (another personal favourite!) whilst folding into it a number of elements not found in the kit – such as Buddha in his pavilion (and to whom respects can be presented in a traditional style). With its waterfall, ponds and placement of trees and cliffs, the lower level of the garden presents a quiet, contemplative retreat calmed by the gentle chimes of a heavy temple bell.
What is particularly engaging about the Subcutan campus / environment is the manner in which everything flows; there are no sharp juxtapositions which might present a sense of sharp edge as one explores; there is a compositional crafting which is both subtle and intrinsic to the setting.
Take the welcome area and landing point for example. The manner in which Dex has crafted the buildings here such that they combine architectural elements (e.g. the use of angles and glass skylights / roof areas) so that they combine seamlessly with the third-party elements seen within the glass dance floor (a nice kitbash from one of Loz Hoyle’s Meshworx designs) and the house (by Ballack (Rodrigo Aubin) to present a modern / futurist feeling which the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright would probably appreciate. Similarly, the joining of a traditionally-joined Japanese garden with the sharp glass-and-concrete bulk of the gallery building is managed in such a way as to avoid any sense of sharp-edged divide; instead the former – through the use of ground cover from the Zen Garden set – appears to gently lap against the hard tile of the latter, like waves gently lapping the shore, allowing the two to flow together.
Then there is the use of elevation and elements from Colpo Wrexler’s designs. The latter help to both bring together the waterfront areas allowing for a natural transition from the landing area through the moorings at the harbour to the sense of jostling city life of the Japanese waterfront without the move from one through the others feeling in any way jarring, while the former ensures the more peaceful elements of the setting such as the gardens can be set apart from the hustle and lights and general “busy-ness” of the waterfront without any sense of the divide between them being artificially enforced.
All of which makes for a richly engaging visit, with the gallery standing as a superb means to immerse yourself in Sophie’s talent as an artist (I just hope we also get to see some / more or her caricature work as well, as it is brilliantly engaging!).
SLurl Details
- Subcutan Art Gallery main landing (Terric, rated Moderate)
- Subcutan Main Gallery (Pernaut, rated Moderate)
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