JaiRus Bly is a Second Life photographer-artist who recently invited me to pop along to the opening of his latest exhibition, hosted at the Centre for the Arts in SL. Sadly, I was unable to make the opening itself, but I did make sure to hop along as soon as time permitted.
The exhibition – entitled Fragments – is housed within a skybox gallery at the Centre for Arts, and whilst small in terms of the number of images, it is very well themed and captivating in its content.
Fragments is perhaps best encapsulated in JaiRus’ own words:
I am drawn to atmosphere, cinematic light, shadows, solitude, beauty, mystery, and the emotions hidden beneath the surface. My images often explore the space between reality and imagination, using Second Life as a canvas where I can create scenes and stories that exist beyond the limits of the real world.
For me, photography is not simply about how an image looks. It is about how it feels.
– JaiRus Bly, discussing his work
So it is that the exhibition presents 12 images, the majority of them avatar-centric, each one framed as a moment in time; a fragment, if you will, of life – or perhaps a life, depending on your response to each of them.
As moments of a life, they are not necessarily connected in terms of whose life they might come from outside of the artist’s avatar generally being the focus – although I suspect they might be seen by some purely as expressions of the artist’s own thoughts and feelings simply because they use his avatar as the primary subject.
But as moments of life I would argue they have a power connect more deeply to each of us; the emotions, feelings, outlook and attitude they express resonating more strongly when seen in terms of our own lives, outlook and emotions. Whichever way one views them however, the richness of the emotional narrative within each piece is inescapable. These are images with a voice all their own, simply asking for us to stop by each and listen to what it has to say.
Coupled with a masterful use of technique and use of either monochrome or colour to further define the moods and sensitivity of each piece, Fragments is a visually engaging, through-provoking collection.
Slurl Details
- Fragments, Centre for the Arts (Waterstone, rated Moderate)
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