Whilst I’ve been familiar with the photography of Alex Riverstone for a fair while and have covered his work in these pages, I hope he’ll forgive me for the fact I hadn’t twigged he’s now curating his own gallery space – Sugarfish Photography – which is currently home to a selection of his own work and a joint exhibition featuring both Alex and Harlo Jamison (HarlowJamison).
Located on a sky platform, Sugarfish Gallery featured four exhibition spaces gathered around a central terrace / event space for opening parties. It’s a simple, minimalist design which allows each of the gallery units to present the art it contains to the best advantage, naturally allowing works to be grouped by artist and / or theme as required, with each building a short walk from the last.
At the time of my visit, Sugarfish was mid-way through the joint exhibition by Harlo and Alex, entitled Shades of Erotica (set to end mid-July 2024). Occupying three of the four gallery spaces this is, as one might expect from its title, an exhibition leaning strongly into erotica and adult themes, with some of the images definitely in the not suitable for work (NSFW) category – so if you are of an overly sensitive disposition, please consider yourself warned. The remaining building is home to a cross-section of Alex’s landscape photography.
I’ve always appreciated Alex’s landscape photographs from around Second Life; he has a knack of capturing the essence of a location and / or presenting the core of an idea through pieces that are framed and cropped in a manner that is visually attractive. A further facet of Alex’s work is his use of style – colour, monochrome, black and white – in which to present a mood or sense of emotion. All of this is very much demonstrated in the selection of pieces displayed at Sugarfish, the pieces within the hall neatly grouped by theme or style.
Alex’s art also feature in two of the three halls given over to Shades of Erotica (with one of the halls also forming the Sugarfish gallery), with Harlo’s taking up the remaining hall.
An exhibit of erotic and sensual Second Life photos … Join us for an exploration of sensuality, let the images speak to you, inspire you, and awaken your senses. Whether you’re a connoisseur of photography or simply seeking to be moved, this showcase promises something for everyone.
– Alex Riverstone on Shades of Erotica
Given the nature of Shades, these are avatar-centric photographs, with Alex’s pieces offering what might be regarded as sets built along interconnected themes and utilising (I believe) the same model. Outside of the use of nudity / semi-nudity, these are pieces touching upon common themes of erotica activities: clothing (boots, stockings, latex clothing, heels); activities (D/s games, bondage), and the the use of pose and focus to offer a feeling of sensual suggestion.
With her pieces, Harlo explores similar avenues, whilst also offering pieces of a more narrative style in terms of how they might be interpreted, as well as enfolding elements of eroticism and sexuality drawn from a broader canvas (so to speak).
Whilst not the first piece within her gallery space, Red2 Shadows Him helps set the tone of Harlo’s pieces. It sits on the left wall of the hall relative to the entrance, and thus sits close to one of the rooms displaying Alex’s art. It features a model seated on a stool, front lit and casting a shadow. In this it follows on from a series of images from Alex on the same lines (Shy Model). Here, and unlike Alex’s pieces, the silhouette of a male figure dominates one side of the photo. Thus, Red2 Shadows Him offers both a narrative in its own right and also sense of continuity between the two artists’ work in both content and titles (Shadows him = follows Alex’s images).
These dual-layer narrative can be found elsewhere in Harlo’s selection. Gentlemen & BadBoys, for example, both suggests the making of an erotic ménage à trois whilst also hinting at the issues of temptations which might be prevalent in relationships (the woman’s hand reaching back for the the man behind her even as she is hugged by her lover. Meanwhile, Ladies & Harlo’ts, only offers a tongue-in-cheek play on Harlo’s name, it offers both a tale of refined sensuality touching on three people, whilst the black and white finish and clothing carries is suggestion of harking back 100 years and a period when taboos started to be broken more openly, even if they weren’t entirely broken down for many more decades to come.
Elegant, explicit, sensual and sexual, Shades of Erotica is engaging through out.
SLurl Details
- Sugarfish Photography (Forgotten Tales, rated adult)
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