Two art exhibitions opened earlier in August, at ArtCare Gallery curated and operated by Carelyna. The first, and longer running of the two, is a series of photo-paintings by Solen (Solen Karu). It opened on August 1st, 2025 so in truth may not have too much longer to run – my apologies to Solen and Carelyna for taking so long to get to it.
The second opened on August 18th, 2025, and features the Second Life photography of Anja (Neobookie). Both are very different one to the other, but both share a common aspect of representing their artists’ unique outlook on life and Second Life.
Solen’s road to art has been an interesting one; from a career in information technology to that of land ownership, cultivating nut and fruit trees to form a small woodland. Whilst doing the latter over a period of some three decades, he also spent / spends time walking a local country trail and taking photographs of the trees and wildlife together with the local river.
He called these photographs “mediocre”; whether the originals were / are or not is an entirely subjective matter. What is clear is the manner in which Solen has used computer software tools and a range of processing techniques to turn them into photo-paintings which are anything but mediocre – rather the reverse, in fact: they are, completely captivating, as can be seen within Walking the Land.
Incorporating multiple aspects of art from abstract to impressionism / abstract impressionism to expressionism, and spread across the two levels of its gallery space, Solen’s work conveys so much within each picture, making this a simply superb exhibition.
Hailing from the Netherlands, Anja has been involved in Second Life for some 12 years and who remains fascinated with the multiple ways in which creativity can be expressed through the platform.
It’s a fascination which led Anja to start taking photographs of the places she visited in-world, and this exhibition allows visitors to explore both her photography and her travels through Second Life.
Entitled Distraction Visions, this is no ordinary pictorial tour of Second Life; the images chosen illustrate the more surreal beauty to be found within our digital world: an island floating in the sky, complete with buildings attached to it almost like barnacles while a whale swims in an embedded aquarium; guitars rising from the ground sprouting branches and leaves; a lunar lander sitting within a multi-level chess board; a racing car formed from a wine bottle; a jet propelled industrial building, and so on.
Each piece is a story in its own right, simply awaiting our imaginations to offer up a narrative (or perhaps narratives, such is the potential of each piece). Whilst they are not necessarily required, the gallery space also offers a series of props reflective of some of the images, given Distracted Vision further depth.
Expressive and engaging, there are very much two exhibitions deserving to be seen and enjoyed.
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