Category: Second Life

Alsatian Kidd is perhaps best known as a region landscaper; his Green Acres Homestead region has been a regular destination for me for several years, as reported in these pages, and he also provides services to those who would like their regions and parcels landscaped. But in addition to this, he is also an accomplished photographer, as indicated by his Flickr stream and  – for the next couple of weeks – through an exhibition within the Sky Gallery at Monocle Man Galleries, the arts centre operated by Lynx Luga and Kit Boyd.

I often talk about art in terms of the narrative and the story it contains; be it within an individual image and / or through the the overall theme for an exhibition. Sometimes the narrative is offered through the image itself, sometimes through the title it has been given, and sometimes the mix of title and subject. With Nihongo-Ka – which translates best as “turning Japanese” – Alsatian offer a 4-chapter series of images which – thanks to the accompanying word panels – offer a story of one man’s travels through feudal Japan and the adventures / trials he faces.

Starting on the ground floor hall immediately on the right of the entry hall, the story unfolds in a clockwise direction through all four halls of the gallery space. In the first hall, we are introduced to the protagonist – Rokudenashi – and his white wolf, whilst setting the scene for his travels. From here, each chapter takes us, hall by hall, through the pair’s journey, at times introducing us to companions who might aid them, or those who might try to thwart them in achieving their goal.

Within each hall, the chapters (presented as scrolls with illustrations from both classical Japanese art and also captured from within Second Life) are mounted with images created by Alsatian that more fully illustrate the unfolding tale. Taken at Japanese-themed locations in Second Life, the images present elements of each chapter in a clear-cut manner with a light touch of post-processing that gives each image as sense of being illustrative to the story without dropping them into the realm of comic / graphic novel, instead leaving each as a piece that can be appreciated in its own right as well as in being part o the unfolding story.

As well as offering the final chapter of the story, the fourth hall of the exhibition space also presents what might have initially served as the inspiration for this artistic tale – the lyrics from Turning Japanese, the  single by British New Wave band The Vapors. Released on the group’s first album, New Clear Days, the song reached number 3 in the UK singles chart in 1980 and remains popular with fans since the band re-formed in 2016.

A simple but engaging artistic tale, Nihongo-Ka will remain open to the public through until the end of October 30th, 2022. And Star Trek fans might what to keep an eye open for the subtle reference to the original series tucked away within one of the panels!

SLurl Details

• Monocle Man Sky Gallery (Flying Fortress, rated Adult)

It’s been barely a Kwarting¹ since I was last at Onceagain Art Gallery curated by Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili), with my last visit being to witness the B&W Group Exhibit (see: Onceagain with black and white in Second Life); and while a month is traditionally said to be a long time in politics, the same is very much true in Second Life. This is because in the time since my last visit the gallery has been relocated from the sky to the ground, and Manoji, and has expanded, its facilities.

Now located on the ground level of its home parcel within the Peaceful Mountains region, the Gallery comprises a number of halls and buildings separated by landscaped gardens. At the time of my visit, parts of the the gallery were still in development. However, this is to be expected because, as Manoji notes herself, she is always tweaking things and making adjustments (and in fact note that the Gallery might be closed on Mondays so that she can do so in peace) – but there is more than enough to occupy the eye even should some elements of the gallery’s lands be under development.

This being the case, the new facilities,  which opened on October 16th, 2022, comprise:

• The Main Gallery, alongside of which is the primary landing point for the Gallery spaces as whole (although the landing point is not enforced so that all remaining gallery spaces can have their own LP). The Main Gallery provides an ensemble exhibition of art.
• The Private Collection, which as the name suggests, features art from Manoji’s personal collection.
• The Personal Exhibition Gallery, featuring Manoji’s own work, which appeared to be under construction at the time of my visit.
• A “Free to Rent” gallery, which was again under construction at the time of my visit, but once available, will be available subject to guidelines offered through a dedicated note card.
• The Artist of the Month gallery, presenting the featured artist invited to display within the Gallery’s spaces – if I am understanding Manoji’s notes correctly, may be presented in one of a number of gallery space designs, as selected by Manoji after viewing the artist’s work.

In addition to the above, at the time of my visit, the north side of the parcel was marked as Under Construction both for what I took to the Personal Exhibition gallery noted above, and to what appear to be three further boutique style gallery spaces and a little caravan park.

Between and around the buildings, the setting has been landscaped as a garden space, high granite cliffs forming privacy walls along two sides, and from which water falls, some of it to feed a stream burbling and bubbling its way through the land. A good portion of the garden has been constructed using Alex Bader’s always popular Zen Garden Building Kit, with the more open lawns being home to 3D art elements again from Manoji’s own collection, whilst towards the centre of the gardens sits what appears to be an office-come-bookshop / quiet spot.

For October, the guest artist is Kika Yongho who, along with Manoji, presents a light-hearted selection of images entitled I only have eyes for the Flamingo. Kika’s images are located on the upper level of the gallery (alongside the landing point), and clicking each piece will supply a note card offering something of a story to go with the image. Four further flamingo-centric images by Manoji can be found on the lower floor of the gallery.

Those wishing to have their art displayed at Onceagain as a featured artist should contact Manoji directly for information on how to do so – with information also being supplied via note card to those using the main landing point.

SLurl Details

• Onceagain Art Gallery (Peaceful Mountains, rated Adult)

1. Kwartang (n.). A unit of measure for time in British politics named for Kwasi Kwartang, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is roughly equivalent to three times the American political unit of measure, the Scaramucci – itself some 11 days in length. (Yes, folks, a touch of political humour to go with the time, if utterly divorced from the focus of this article.)