Scylla’s reflections on transition at Nitroglobus in Second Life

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, July 2026: Scylla Rhiadra – Thou Shalt Not be Burned

I have said it before, and I will doubtless say it again: Scylla Rhiadra is one of the most gifted communicators in Second Life. Her ability to use art to convey ideas, feelings, realities and truths, and/or to expose concepts and ideas and encourage the grey stuff between the ears to fire on all available cylinders, is second to none.

In the years I’ve been covering Scylla’s work, I’ve always been utterly engaged by its depth and commentary – possibly to the extent of at times putting words in her mouth, so to speak, via the articles I’ve written here.

Using her own avatar as a model, Scylla creates images of a captivating depth and style, allowing individual pieces to be appreciated purely for their artistry and framing. But when taken with her ability to observe and comment upon the human condition, they become visual essays by which she conveys her thoughts and reflections.

I have been seriously focused upon photography in Second Life since 2018. Most of my work has been avatar-centred, because I’m particularly interested in the ways in which we can represent the “human” in a digital simulacrum: how can we retain the things that reflect the complexity and uniqueness of “real life” identity – emotions, connections, our dynamic engagement with the world – in a simulation that, to varying degrees, constrains the expression of these things?

– Scylla Rhiadra on her photography

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, July 2026: Scylla Rhiadra – Thou Shalt Not be Burned

Such is the case with Thou Shalt Not be Burned, a collection of her Second Life photography built around the notion of transitional moments in life – the form they might take, how they impact us and the time and how they might be looked back upon with the passage of time. Presented at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas, it offers a further chapter in a collection of works vivid in both their presentation as images and through their context as commentary.

The title for the piece is taken from Isaiah 43.2. In context, the verse holds much value to the subject; however, it also perhaps initially obscures it behind thoughts of a religious-themed exhibition – which this is anything but.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, July 2026: Scylla Rhiadra – Thou Shalt Not be Burned

Life is a series of transitions. Some – the major seminal moments of change such as leaving our parents’ home to start life independently of them, or getting married or starting a new career or engaging in a new means of creative expression, and so on – are the ones we perhaps most readily identify. These events so often feel like they are the cliff-hangers, if you will, between one chapter of life and the next, and because they are so impactful of the moment, they can feel as if they are the moments of transition in life.

However, whilst these pivotal moments can have some of the greatest impact on us, the reality is life is really a continuous flow of transitions, many of them small and quiet, seemingly incidental at the time they occur: the making of a friend, a small moment of discovery, a quiet daydream. Moments which flow as a part of living such that when they occur, we may not even recognise them or the changes they invite; instead, we transition in the most subtle of ways. I’m also interested in exploring ways of making the digital art we produce here something that is in itself a little unique — neither documentary screenshot of a “gaming” platform, nor pallid imitation of art forms (photography, painting) in real life. Can SL art become its own thing?

– Scylla Rhiadra on her photography

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, July 2026: Scylla Rhiadra – Thou Shalt Not be Burned

Such is this subtlety, we are perhaps unaware of it until a conscious effort is made to look back, be it over months, years or even decades, brings with it the realisation that some of the most enduring changes in our lives originated and grew out of those chains of moments, small and quiet and completely unrecognised at the time they occur, which forge us without the heat and flame of change, and make us who we are.

Through the pieces offered within Thou Shalt Not be Burned, Scylla offers up a series of pieces in celebration of these small moments of change and the settings and surroundings in which they might occur. Perfectly framed as simple moments in time, each one carries its own brief narrative of an event, an action, the appearance of a memory – quiet transitional moments within the everyday flow of life. Finally, I am interested in Second Life photography as a means of storytelling, which I conceive of as a dynamic and creative dialogue between “artist” and “viewer,” in a way that seeks to dissolve the boundaries that too often narrowly define those two roles.

– Scylla Rhiadra on her photography

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, July 2026: Scylla Rhiadra – Thou Shalt Not be Burned

There is a richness and depth within these pieces which speaks to us. Transition is not merely the sudden eruption of a singularity around which our lifer suddenly reforms; it is a galaxy of moments, of the progression of life through experience, of growth through the most natural of events faced every day.

Once again, a truly marvellous and deeply engaging exhibition from one of Second Life’s most engaging photographic artists.

Note: Thou Shalt Not be Burned officially opens on Monday, July 20th, 2026 at 12:00 noon SLT with music by DJ Magda.

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A Swaying Shelf and a Greenwitch Café in Second Life

The Swaying Shelf, July 2026 – click any image for full size

In my previous Exploring Second life piece, I wrote about Storywood Sanctuary, noting that it is one of two settings located in the Mainland continent of Heterocera designed by the Wild Abundance team. The other of these locations is The Swaying Shelf, sitting a little further to the east along Mock Heather Road, and which I also recently visited.

Around twice the size of Storywood Sanctuary, The Swaying Shelf contains themes and motifs in keeping with the former whilst offering its own character and nature.

The Swaying Shelf, July 2026 – click any image for full size

There is no set Landing Point, but a pair of tree houses (the excellent Yara Treehouse by Cory Edo) sit close to the roadside, one of which acts as the entrance from the road – just climb and descend the steps. As this delivers visitors from the road to the setting’s footpath, I’ve arbitrarily used a SLurl in this piece which will drop you more-or-less onto the same spot on the footpath.

The path forms a loop around an arbour on its opposite side to the tree houses.  Draped in vines and with grass for a carpet, the arbour sits as a cosy reading room complete with rocking chair and blazing fire in the hearth.

The Swaying Shelf, July 2026 – click any image for full size

Pointing eastwards, the path, lit by lanterns – the setting had its own day / night cycle – makes its way past another tree house, this one atop a tree apparently growing out of a storybook, before weaving its way to where a gate provides access to the Greenwitch Cafe.

Whilst larger than Storybook Sanctuary, The Swaying Shelf is more open in nature, just the one path winding through it and most of the land is give over to trees and flowers. Which is not to say it is not without its own little details worth looking out for; in this regard, do be careful where you tread when you’re approaching the gate to the café next door.

The Swaying Shelf, July 2026 – click any image for full size

Sitting in a parcel of just 1024 sq metres, The Greenwitch Café sits just over the region boundary from The Swaying Shelf.

As a part of The Nature Collective, the café has been designed by the extended Cerulean family under the Le’eaf & Co banner. This talented group are responsible for many such builds beautifying corners of Mainland, a good few of which I’ve covered in these pages, as well as operating the Cerulean estate, which I’ve also written about several times.

The Greenwitch Café, July 2026 – click any image for full size
Savour garden-to-table meals in a queer-owned, cannabis-friendly café nestled in the Lake District, surrounded by forest and blooms. Everything is grown on-site — from herbs to healing plants. A cosy, magical LGBTQIA+ friendly retreat.

– Greenwitch Café About Land description

Apparently utilising a converted shipping container as its structure, the café offers outdoor seating on the wooden deck placed before it and on its roof, there latter reached by a set of outside stairs to one side of the deck. Additional seating for visitors sits just to the right of the entrance gates in the form of a small pergola neatly and cosily set with furnishings and décor.

The Greenwitch Café, July 2026 – click any image for full size

As the About Land description and signs on and around the café make clear, this is a place to enjoy a drink or two and nibble on something sweet or savoury – or which may well give a person a certain buzz, shall we say.

The Landing Point sits between between the sweep of Mock Heather Road and the gabled gates providing access to the café’s grounds, it being only a few steps from the gates to either the café or the pergola.

The Greenwitch Café, July 2026 – click any image for full size

Bees and Silkies – Chinese silk chickens – are cared for here, and it’s easy to assume the honey produced by the former finds its way into and onto some of café’s offerings. Eggs from Silkies are known to be especially rich in favour, so its likely some of these also find their way into the cafés kitchen – although Silkies are often kept as much for pets / exhibition birds as they are for their eggs. Towards the back of the land is a neat little area with pagan / occult-ish vibes – and with a neat little twist on the idea of Tarot cards.

Surrounded by tall fir trees and wild grasses, the café also shares its space with the local squirrels – do be careful where you tread on the deck! – whilst a barn owl keeps an eye on all that goes on. I admit to finding the parcel’s Shared Environment leaning a little towards the dim side and so played around with the Sun position to brighten things a little (rather than playing with the HDR slider), but that’s purely a personal thing.

The Greenwitch Café, July 2026 – click any image for full size

Taken individually or as a joint visit (no pun intended given the nature of the café!), The Swaying Shelf and The Greenwitch Café again demonstrate how small corners of the Mainland can be turned into welcoming little spaces for people to freely enjoy.

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