Category: Art in Second Life

We received news on two new exhibitions featuring portraiture and avatar studies that have recently opened in Second Life. The first is at the Surreal Gallery, featuring the work of Lily Summerwind (LiliMango), and the second features the work of Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) on display at the Melania Art Gallery.

Simply Lily opened on April 23rd and runs until June 23rd at the Blue Room at Surreal Gallery is the smaller of the two exhibits, offering fourteen images by Llily Summerwind. Given the title of the exhibition, the majority of the pieces are self-portraits, which are striking in their use of poses to convey a story or mood.

Self-portraiture is a form of photography which tends to engage me peripherally; while I can appreciate the artistry that is involved, often times the fact that the pictures are posed and stand as self-studies, rather than carrying a narrative tends to leave me distanced from the subject matter. However, I found myself drawn to number of the images presented in this exhibit, and for numerous reasons.

The first is that narrative is clearly evident in a number, with several offering a sense of anticipation / promise which draws one into them, wanting not so much to discover the narrative as be a part of it –Shhhh being a case in point. Then there is the use of colour, shading, light and shadow, all of which are quite extraordinary.

In terms of colour and shading, everything from powerful monochrome (again, witnessed in Shhhh) through a joyous richness of colour demonstrated in the likes of Rainbow Bright or the balance of colour and lighting which is so powerfully used in Geisha. The skilled use of contrast is also presented, through pieces like Me and My Shadow, Spring Flower and The Butterfly Effect.

Maddy is the larger of the two exhibits, presenting around 40 images by Maddy on display at both indoor and outdoor spaces at the Melania Gallery, making full use of what is a charming setting, complete with canal, gallery buildings, a bar and canal-side walks built by Terrygold.

Once again there is a richness of style and approach to the pieces on offer, with a broad mix of subject matter, albeit again with a focus on avatar portraiture. In particular, sitting within the indoor spaces are a series of surreal / collage pieces which are especially eye-catching (see above). Colour is once again used to great effect, with a studied use of depth of field present in some images as well.

Many of the pieces are untitled, making it somewhat difficult to draw attention to specific pieces on  offer, which is a shame, as show really are deserving of recognition, such as the fantasy piece sitting alongside the landing point (and which is to the right of the image headlining this article), together with the aforementioned surreal pieces. There also appears to be some grouping of pictures thematically between the various exhibition areas – although this could equally just be the way I looked at things.

However, this does underline a small problem with this exhibition:  there are perhaps too many pieces on display. Sometimes, less is more and such is the volume of work on display, it can be a little overwhelming as one wanders through the exhibition spaces. That said, the pieces on offer are undoubtedly striking, and very much worth viewing,

SLurl Details

• Simply Lily, Surreal Galley (Claressa, rated: Moderate)
• Maddy, Melania Gallery (White Beach, rated: Adult)

At the start of April 2017, I wrote about Melusina’s World of Details exhibition in Second Life. She’s now opened a second exhibition for the month, and it might be considered something of a companion to it, presenting something of a joint visit opportnuity. .

American Icons is a celebration of the great symbols of Americana in Second Life, all portrayed through Melusina’s signature close-up style of photography which is so distinctive and so creative.

In writing about the exhibition, she notes, “Since SL is a world made by residents, the choice of things they reproduced in this world looks like a catalogue of that can be called ‘icons’. That includes typical landscapes, historical symbols, daily life objects and places, roadside architecture, vintage objects and much more.”

So it is that we’re presented with 29 images of items and locations which are so emblematic of America and American culture. Sky scrapers, roof-top water towers, tower cranes, plains or wheat, roller coasters, motels, hotels, the diner and perhaps the greatest symbol of America of all – the motor car – are all gloriously celebrated.

But given this is Melusina, there are not simply postcard snaps of Americana in Scone Life; these are considered studies, where the beauty lies not in sweeping vistas or ranks of gleaming gas-guzzlers, but in the detail: and flash of sun reflected off of wheel rim and polished chrome; the gaudy brilliance of vinyl upholstery and steel-edged tables with their Formica tops; the blast of steam between an old rooftop water tank and the silhouette of a construction crane.

Each piece offered is evocative and eye-catching, and the exhibition itself is being held in one of the most iconic American-style regions in Second Life, the outstanding The Last Forever. Itself a work of art, the region encompasses so much about middle America, it has become a popular feature of SL photographers and blogs. As such, both the exhibition – which you can find  at the Marfa Contemporary gallery, just across the road from the main landing point – and the region make for an excellent visit.

SLurl Details

American Icons (The Last Forever, rated:  Moderate)

Whilst it formally opens at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, April 19th, Niamh’s Journey of Dreams is already welcoming visitors and inviting them to explore and enjoy. The third in a series of watercolour like installations by Ceakay Ballyhoo, Niamh’s Journey of Dreams draws inspiration from further afield than her own writing, as was the case with A Watercolour Wander (reviewed here) and The Forest Beyond (reviewed here), calling upon Cybele Moon’s Tales of the Tuatha as its inspiration.

Cybele is better known in-world at Hana Hoobinoo. She is an extraordinarily gifted artist in the written word, spoken word, photography and art. Under her pen names of Cybele Moon and The Dune Mouse, she weaves marvellous stories, beautifully illustrated, while her art has been deservedly exhibited across Second Life.

As such, a collaboration between Cybele and Ceakay was perhaps inevitable; both are joined by a love of art and storytelling, and Ceakay’s series of region-wide paintings-as-a-story approach to immersive art is an ideal vehicle by which Cybele’s stories and tales can be re-interpreted, presented and enjoyed.

Like her earlier installations in the series, Niamh’s Journey (if I might shorten it so), take the visitor on a journey through a landscape as a painting, the tale of Niamh’s attempts to retrieve her lost dreams gradually unfolding through the use of in-world story chapters, featuring Cybele’s own art as a background to the text (the chapters also present visitors with a note card of the text for easier reading, if required).

Niamh’s Journey marks a more sophisticated approach to presenting a story than perhaps evidence previously; parcel windlights are used to change the environment (if you don’t have viewer support for parcel windlights but do have an extensive selection of windlight skies, you can use your viewer’s About Land floater to manuals change the environment with altitude), together with teleport portals to move through parts of the story, while Elwyn Lorefield provided assistance with scripting.

To say too much about the installation would be to spoil it – as with Ceakay’s earlier Wonder and Forest, this is an installation which should be experienced, rather than read about. Suffice it to say, an incredible amount of work has gone into it, and the creative spark between Cybele and Ceakay is clear throughout. At the end of the story you also have the opportunity to purchase art by Cybele and visit Ceakay’s store as well (a visit against recommended).

The official opening on Wednesday, April 19th, will feature a tour of the installation, with Caledonia Skytower reading from Niamh’s tales.

Related Links

• Niamh’s Journey of Dreams (Storybrooke, rated: Adult)
• The Runes of the Gatekeeper’s Daughter
• Cybele Moon’s Flickr
• Ceakay’s blog