Cats and Birds is a small gallery space I had not, up until preparing this article, previously heard of or visited, so was pleased to have the chance to acquaint myself with another location celebrating art in Second Life. Operated by Gaby Gaby Valentin-Steampunk (Gabrielleval), it sits to one side of the nightclub of the same name, and I was drawn to it after reading about the December 2025 exhibition there, which features the imagery of Susann DeCuir.
For those own may not be aware, Susann is a fellow Second Life traveller and blogger, writing about her discoveries in Mein Zweites Lieben (My Second Life), covering all things SL, including the regions and art events she visits, as well as covering her own region of Angel of Pain, which I’ve also covered in these pages, and a broad swathe of SL news.
Entitled The Many Facets of Second Life, the exhibition at Cats and Birds is a veritable tour de force of Susann’s work as she documents the places she has visited and also touching upon her own interests within Second Life.
Susann has an admirable eye for angle, focus, composition and shot, allowing her to imaginatively and captivatingly capture the places she visits. She also has the eye of a storyteller and the gentle touch of a rightfully restrained editor; while she may well post-process her images (as most of us do), she does so gently and lightly, and always with a eye to her subject.
Thus, throughout all of her captures of regions and settings, she never moves away from the environment settings in which they are found. Instead, she uses her editing skills to compliment the composition of landscape and environment through which she has roamed, rather than the use of alternative settings within the viewer many of us might opt to us. Whilst there is nothing wrong with opting for alternative environment settings when taking photographs, it is nevertheless true that there is always a risk of spoiling the intent presented by the location; thus, by encouraging herself to stay within the bounds of the local EEP settings, Susann remains truer to the original.
Through the 25 images within this collection – each one neatly displayed with a name plate which, when clicked will offer the observer the chance to see it in much greater detail within Susann’s Flickr – we are not so much spectators (or beholders, if you will) of Susann’s artistry and photography; we become fellow travellers with her. We journey through the worlds she has visited, sharing her time and space and sharing in her unique and gifted perspective on Second Life and its beauty and wonder.
A genuinely engaging exhibition, highly recommended, and my congratulations to Susann. Please note the exhibition will run through until December 31st, 2025.
SLurl Details
- Cats and Birds (Burning Desire Island, rated Adult)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 