Category: Second Life

Officially opening at 10:30 SLT on Saturday, March 2nd, 2019 at the Lyric Art Gallery is the latest edition of the Visual Feast exhibitions, featuring the work of two artists: SecondHandTutti and the gallery’s co-curator, Michiel Bechir. Between them, they offer two very different – but equally captivating – exhibits.

On the ground floor of the gallery is SecondHandTutti’s #26 Chalkboard Dolls, which – contrary to the title is actually 17 pieces of art comprising 14 wall mounted images and three 3D pieces. They are, however, all drawn together by the chalkboard theme.

The 14 images, all clearly taken in Second Life have been beautifully rendered to present a series of chalkboard drawings. Each is offered as if freshly drawn, the chalk resting on the board’s shelf alongside an easer. It’s a fascinating way by which to capture Second Life and the degree to which each image genuinely appears to have been hand-drawn on a board is mesmerizing. Granted, on one or two you have to get the camera in close to fully appreciate the detail, but the effort is more than worthwhile.

The three 3D pieces utilise chalkboards to display their names. They are uniquely abstracted studies of figures created with prims, rather than the more common mesh. This gives them a rawness of line that is as eye-catching as the images surrounding them, and  – in the case of Dancer perhaps offers an added sense of tribalism to the figure and the dance.

Located on the upper floor of the gallery, Michiel’s exhibit presents 17 of his photographs taken around second Life, either mounted on the walls or on easels. His work has always had a richness to it, whether presented as a gently post-processed photograph, or more broadly edited to give the feel of a painting, and the selection offered at the Lyric presents both approaches for visitor to admire.

As a seasoned SL traveller, one of the things I enjoy with landscape photography that has been captured in-world is trying to identify the locations without cheating by referencing the Edit floater or hovering the mouse over a picture in the hopes of seeing a name. Sometimes the images feature aspects of a region that are so iconic, it is relatively easy to do so: the airstrip at Wild Edge, for example, or the wind turbines at La Digue Du Braek, or the beauty of the Gulf of Lune – all of which can be found in this selection. But sometimes, the setting can be captured in a more subtle manner – and thus I was delighted to spot images taken and Scribbled Hearts and Kekeland, two destinations to which I have in the past made numerous visits.

Two excellent selections of art, and I recommend them as being well worth a visit.

SLurl Details

• Lyric ArtGallery (Sea, rated: Moderate)

La Maison d’Aneli, curated by Aneli Abeyante, has opened its doors on its March ensemble exhibition, and once again presents the work of six very different artists, all of whom offer unique perspectives and styles.

As I didn’t manage to make a return visit to cover three of the artists in the February exhibition (the three I did write about can be found in Art and artists at La Maison d’Aneli), I’ll attempt to give a thumbnail look at all six appearing through to late March.

Serena Parisi is a long-time Second Life photographer and explorer, who also appears to be well-travelled in the physical world, as the selection of her photography offered here more than demonstrates, and as she explains. “This exhibition is about my trip to Vietnam. Between smiles, laughs and emotions, my encounters with the population in an explosion of colour that characterises this country.”

Thus, across the upper level of the gallery space, and on the mezzanine above it, Serena offers 17 images of the people of Vietnam, the majority in colour  – although I did find the four presented in monochrome quite captivating. Focused on the women and children of the country, they offer fascinating portraits of work and play, happiness and, in some, that understandable wariness of having a camera pointed at you by a stranger. Tightly focused, they portray living individuals but, at the same time reveal a lot about the lifestyle of many Vietnamese people.

Across the lobby area on the same level, and also split between floor and mezzanine is an exhibition of avatar studies by Jean (jeaneos7), who also hails from France. The pieces here both collectively contrast and compliment Serena’s work. Contrast, simply because they are avatar studies, rather than physical world studies, and compliment in that they are also largely tightly focused on the subject such that we are drawn into the lives portrayed, even without the aid of the backdrop that some of the images additionally offer.

Avatars are also the focus of Kiana Jarman’s selection of work, located on the floor and mezzanine of the gallery’s lower level. She notes that, “Photography is like writing with light, making music with shades.” This is aptly demonstrated within many of her images; while they are focused on avatars, they provide a broader setting, offering a rich canvas on which a story or song might be written. I confess that I found some of her pieces vibrant with life and/or playfulness, and other so rich in tone and narrative, that my eye and camera were constantly drawn back to them.

Pointing out particular images in this respect is hard, and none of the pieces are titled. However, to the right of Kiana’s biography giver are two truly marvellous pieces, one above the other, that respectively offer a wonderful depth of narrative and capture the pure vitality of adventurous living. Further around the mezzanine, the sense of fun is reflected through a Queen Of Hearts like figure peering through curtains, while the elegance and beauty of the human body as reflected in the avatar is perfectly frame in the two images I’ve chosen to use as the banner image for this article.

Also on the lower level of the gallery is a mixed media presentation by Rofina Bronet, that presents her work both as an artist and as a machinima maker. This is the most eclectic of the selections presented within this exhibition, with the artwork split between expressive, almost abstract pieces, and those focused on specific avatar subjects: Bryn Oh and  Paris Obscur (JonathanDimitri Soderstrom). As well as the large images mounted on the gallery’s walls, Rofina has provided small view screens which, when clicked, will page through the images as well. To see the machinima offered as a part of the selection, make sure you have media streaming enabled in your viewer.

Rounding out this exhibition, and located in the end halls of both the upper and lower gallery spaces are displays be Reycharles and Oema.

The former presents a mix of his 2D and 3D art, the majority of which is wonderfully abstracted. While he often works with colour, manipulating it experimentally and seeing where it leads, the pieces Reycharles presents here are largely monochrome in tone. There is a wonderful feeling of some of the pieces – both 3D and 2D – having been extruded rather than being intentionly drawn / painted / formed; an organic feel that is itself utterly fascinating.

Artist and blogger Oema, located on the lower level of the gallery, presents 14 pieces running from landscapes to avatar studies to original paintings.

I’ve always admired her work for its sense of fantasy / dream, and many of the pieces within this selection demonstrate this to the full. However, it is the studies to the right of the hall as you enter it that utterly captivated me. Each of them holds a unique beauty within what are very different styles when viewed one to the next. Each also – as with all of Oema’s work, is rich in both detail and expression of story.

Taken together this is a richly diverse exhibition that is nevertheless drawn together by incidental, rather than deliberate themes, and which will be available through until late March.

SLurl Details

• La Maison d’Aneli (Virtual Holland, rated: Moderate)