Day: August 26, 2024

‘Twas back to Serena Arts Centre for me of late to view two exhibitions of art, one of which opened mid-August 2024, and the other a little later in the month, both by artists whose work I always enjoy seeing.

Having opened on August 16th, From Coast to Coast by Raven Arcana is the older of the two exhibitions, and thus the one I’ll cover first. Located in one of the two geodesic domes within the Arts Hub, this is a collection of Second Life images depicting – as one might expect from the exhibition title – coastal scenes; and the do so quite beautifully.

As I noted a year ago 2023, Raven is a gifted landscape photographer who captures the beauty to be found in settings right across Second Life, using both the viewer’s camera and a diplomatic application of post-processing. In this she uses an eye for subject and presentation to great effect, match the degree and style of her post processing very closely to the subject matter of the image in question.

Thus, when viewing her work, one can quickly and seamless drift from views with sharply-defined foreground elements as if captured on a photographic roll or a digital medium to present a faithful and crisp reproduction of all the camera saw, and then on to an image suggestive of soft-focus and perhaps the use of a filter to present and dream-like quality; thence forward to a picture evoking the sense that that artist abandoned her camera in favour of an easel and paints. All of which is more than evident within From Coast to Coast.

These are pieces with a tremendous sense of mood and emotion awaiting discovery, together with pointers to the wildness of nature. There is the suggestion of an idyllic morning in which the Sun is burning off dawn’s mist and promising a fine day’s fishing; then there are the memories seemingly captured on canvas of a trip of a remote coastal setting; or the subtle reminder of the power of nature’s breath through the bent form of a tree, the tug of kites against the tethers holding them to the land, or the passage of boats under the power of even the gentleness of breezes.

Then there is the evocation of emotions within us, something perhaps best seen within Across the Pond. To me a powerful story of contrasts and emotion; the figure silhouetted against the lowering Sun at first offering a sense of piece and calm; but then the presence of the lowering, darkening clouds, the hint of turbulence within their visible parts and the distant foaming of a wave breaking over rocks, a combination perhaps indicative of the silhouetted figure’s state of mind mind be more tumultuous than their observation of the setting Sun might suggest. But I’ll leave it to you to discover what stories From Coast to Coast might whisper to you.

Located in the Centre’s other geodesic dome is Sisi Biedermann’s Magic Art.

I’ve made no secret of my appreciation for Sisi’s digital artistry, and I regard her as one of the most engaging digital mixed-media artists in Second Life. Her work is both utterly unique and without bounds, covering everything from the natural world through in-world settings to the fantastical and even touching on the abstract and the near-surreal. As such, I’ve never failed to find it completely captivating in its richness of imagination, style and colour.

With Magic Art, Sisi presents a collection primarily – but not exclusively – on gardens and plants / flowers. I’ve no idea if the pieces are the result of places Sisi has visited within the physical world (as can be with other elements of her work in past exhibitions), or the result of Second Life explorations (elements within some seem to suggest they might have hailed from in-world – although they could just as easily come from the physical realm), or are purely the result of Sisi’s vivid imagination and her skill in the use of multi-media and digital tools.

Not that knowing the origins on the pieces particularly matters; as noted, Sisi’s art is visually captivating and rich in the suggestions of life as well as with colour, whatever the source material. As such, this is another display of her work I have no hesitation in recommending.

With both exhibitions within easy walking distance from one another across the centre’s main plaza, making for a very easy visit to both. And while there, why not take time to visit Elvira Mistwood’s exhibition of enchanting digital pieces, located in the Centre’s north-east corner gallery building.

SLurl Details

• Serena Arts Centre main landing point (Serena Hub, rated Moderate)