Artsville: of Manipulators and Unnamed Heroes in Second Life

Update, January 15th, 2025: Artsville has relocated.

Currently open at Artsville Galleries and community Hub, the arts hub managed by Frank Atisso with the support of Jerzzie Reece-Redstar (jerzzie Reece), are two entirely independent exhibitions by two very different artists which carry enough of a slender thread between them that I’m going to cover both here as they spoke to me, and I hope both artists will forgive me for combining them in this manner.

On the ground level at Artsville, and within Gallery 1 there is Manipulators, a collection of black and white photographic images by Christian Carter (XJustFriendX) which opened on November 15th, 2024. Christian presages the exhibition within his SL Profile with the comment I wanted to show in these photos things that worry me a lot lately… And having viewed the exhibition, I can say he’s not alone in the line of thinking and reflection taken within the exhibition, which is more fully described within the gallery with a quote attributed to the Nobel prize-winning Swedish biochemist, Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius (August 1902 – October 1971):

We live in a world where unfortunately the distinction between true and false appears to become increasingly blurred by manipulation of facts, by exploitation of uncritical minds, and by the pollution of the language.

David I. Haberman cites the quote as coming from Tiselius whilst speaking at the 1970 Nobel Prize Ceremony (Tiselius received his Nobel prize in 1948, but was Chairman of the Board for the Nobel Foundation from 1964 through 1968, and thereafter remained involved with the Foundation through to close to his death).  As such, and given today’s global political climate, it is a highly apt and relevant statement.

Within Manipulators, Christian explores the reality of the reality contained within Tiselius’ words through images highlighting the manner in which language, reality, truth and facts have become so easily manipulated, most notably through the growing reliance on the likes of the soundbite, social media and belief in media channels which see revenue as more important that the transmission of facts. Social / mass media in particular have a lot to answer for: from allowing the rise of polluted language (“alternative facts”;  “fake news”) to become accepted means to deny critical thinking and allow the easy acceptance of lies and deceit, through to the elevation of charlatans, egotists, billionaires and those who would consider themselves the super-elite, aloft from the laws and requirements which bind the rest of us, as the new saviours.

The images themselves speak clearly to all of this, and while it might be subjective on my part, I would perhaps suggest viewing them in order from the right as you enter the exhibition hall; not because there is a specific order or narrative flow to them, but simply because following them in this way will bring around the images in turn to finish as Christian’s core message to all of us: we are each the heroes needed to make the world a better place.

Heroes are also the subject of the second exhibition I’m covering here, that of Bleu’s (Bleu Oleander) Tomb of the Unnamed Hero. This can be reach from the ground level of Artsville via the teleport boards.

This is an installation which is best seen using the Shared Environment and with media enabled if not set to Autoplay (click the movie camera icon, top right of the viewer menu, next to the volume control icon – not the local media stream button).

Perhaps the best way to describe the installation is to use Bleu’s words:

This tomb/temple project is dedicated to all those who have gone before us, is a place for reflection, reflection on who we are and the lives of those that paved the way for us. A reflection on the ultimate meaning of our own lives. Each contribution worthy of remembrance. We now also understand ourselves not only as expressions of those that have come before us, but as ecologies of our microbiomes … we exist in symbiosis. Our genomes and microbiomes are a record of life that came before us and helped make us who we are.

This project is a virtual three dimensional interpretation of these ideas.

In passing through and climbed Bleu’s installation – or by imply sitting within it – we are given the opportunity to reflect on some basic truths. That while there are many remembered for their impact on history, good and bad and have been immortalised in book, verse, song, story, film and television; in reality we can all be heroes in our own way, simply for being who we are, and in how we help and positively impact all those with whom we interact; within each of us reside the power to affect change and growth, to bring forth good and share it with others.

Thus, Bleu reminds us that even when times seem at their darkness, we can draw strength, compassion and understanding from those who came before us, and both share it with those around us and dedicate it and our own to those who follow us.