Category: Art in Second Life

On 30th June 2024, Summer Vibes opened at Onceagain Gallery curated by onceagain (manoji Yachvili). A celebration of summer time and all it might bring, the exhibition features art by six Second Life artist-photographers: Onceagain herself, Kian (random26356), Terrygold, Rita Glad, Deluna (Sophia Galewind), Scylla Rhiadra, Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) and Moki Yuitza.

This is an exhibition where the setting plays a role as well as the images; Onceagain has redressed her region – which I wrote about in its own right in May – as a summertime  beach / coastal setting. The sand rises and falls, water cuts its way into the landscape and across the beaches, dunes and rocks, stand various structures, many built out of shipping containers, which also form several bridges across the water channels cutting into the region.

The landing point sits alongside a collection of trailer homes stacked up in a manner a little mindful of Ready Player One, together with containers which shelter Onceagain’s images. These for a lovely collection of works linked by themes (or shades, if you prefer) of blue whilst presenting images of summer fun and activities at the beach or in or by the water.

Proceeding clockwise from here and over the sands and harder-packed ground will bring you to another shipping container in which lies a selection of pieces by Maddy. These feature a mix of images and the colours of summer, several of which I believe might be AI generated. From here, and passing by way of one of the container bridges, visitor come to a trio of gallery spaces.

Sitting over the water is a pier with a multi-level structure at one end housing Terrygold’s work. Two of the level here are connected internally by step, whilst the uppermost must be reached from outside. All three house images and studies of summertime times and hints of the time of year offered in Terrygold’s inimitable and attractive style; individual pieces each with a story to tell in its own way, complete with hints of summer and / or summer activities.

At the top of the hill, Moki uses her space to present a series of genuinely minimalist studies focused on her avatar, together with a set of richly coloured pieces. The sets are effectively split between levels / “rooms” in the space, allowing etc grouping to be appreciated. The individual pieces are again strong in story – although I admit to being drawn to the elegant depth of the more minimal pieces – particularly Sand and Mirage.

Below Moki’s are is another container featuring Kain’s work. I’m not sure I’ve actually witnessed his photography before, but I have to say there is something very endearing about these pieces and the slightly tongue-in-cheek manner in which he presents memories of Regions Past in Second Life. These are genuinely delightful poster-type images with text that both point to their source location and offer a winking smile of humour from the artist. Kian’s Travel Agency is certainly a “business” worth visiting!

Another trip over water – this via wooden bridge – provides access to Rita Glad’s exhibition and Scylla’s. Rita is another artist with whose work I’m not familiar; I found her pieces here vibrant in their use of colour and also joyous, reflecting one of the major emotions experienced the the young and the young at heart when visiting the seaside.

Occupying a single-level building apparently build out of sun-bleached plywood, Scylla’s art once again engages and challenges. As I’ve oft mentioned,  Scylla is a photographer-artist who truly understands the art of gentle suggestion; her images stand as single-frame stories such that even when joined by a central theme, each remains independent of its fellows as it whispers to us. but what that might be is entirely personal and subjective, the combination of image the the words Scylla has selected to go with it tweaking the imagination and forming ideas in ways that are unique to each of us.

I could happily wax lyrical about Scylla’s work; the use of visual and written metaphor, the subtle referencing through lines of text and composition of images. But I won’t here; suffice it to say the pieces displayed here are richly evocative, and I particularly enjoyed Lost In and the use of lines from Eliot’s The Dry Salvages. (The Four Quartets being one of my great loves). There is something quite marvellous in the back-and-forth play of metaphor and idea evident between the lines of the poem and the image itself, serving to underline the truth of Eliot’s commentary that, like it or not and no matter who we are or where we go, our connection to the natural world cannot be broken.

Which leads me (by way of another container bridge) to Deluna’s selection of pieces. These form an intriguing set, on the one hand, each has a clear form and interpretation, one in part offered by its title. On the other, the presence of a poem by Carlo Betocchi brings to mind the subjective imagery of the hermetic poets wherein the sound of the words forming the poem are as important as the meaning of the words in bringing forth a personal understanding of the poem. The presence here of Betocchi’s work suggests that each of the images offered by Deluna has more to say to us through the its use of colour and individual elements as much as by its overall framing and cropping.

In all, an engaging and engrossing collection of art.

SLurl Details

• Onceagain Gallery (Fading Shadows, Moderate)

It was back to the Kondor Art Centre, operated and curated by Hermes Kondor, for my second visit to the Kondor Art Museum, which saw the opening of its second four-month exhibition of 2D and 3D art; one which features 2D artist-photographers who are, in my opinion, some of the most expressive in the of field presenting work in Second Life.

The exhibition opened on June 23rd, 2024, the exhibition answers a question I cogitated during my first visit in February (see: The Kondor Art Museum in Second Life): would the Museum feature just the one set of exhibitions, or offer a rotating series of exhibits? For this four-month run, the Museum features pieces by Mihailsk, Monique Beebe, Hermes Kondor, Selen Minotaur and Scylla Rhiadra, with a selection of Ilyra Chardin’s charming 3D figures awaiting discovery at the entrance and in the main foyer.

To the left of the museum (as you enter the foyer), Scylla presents La Danse Des Petits Rats. However, this is not a celebration of small rodents jiving (or performing other dances), as the name might suggest; rather it is a celebration of the work of French artist Edgar Degas (July 1834 – September 1717). Often referred to as an impressionist painter, despite the fact he often despised the impressionist movement with its focus on “bright” colours and use of artificial light, Degas is probably best known for a series of paintings he produced  from the late 1860 through the 1880s focused on the young dancers studying at the School of Dance at the Paris Opera who were referenced as the Little Rats.

No-one knows exactly where the name originated, although the likes of Balzac claim that the romantics saw the rat as a creature to be held dear – small and inquisitive, but able to mature into a “tiger” or “panther”, powerful and lithe – just as the young students at the School of Dance started out urchin-like, maturing into a lithe dancers, their moves fluid and graceful.

Whatever the origins of the term, Degas’ paintings of the Little Rats stand as a history of the students at the School of Dance – from painting the dancers during a performance, he moved to producing “behind the scenes” paintings showing the dancers backstage, in rehearsal or being taught. In doing so, he provided insight into the secrets of ballet training, the paintings becoming extremely popular. At the same time, the series also helps to mark the artist’s own evolving style as a painter. Within her exhibit, Scylla offers A celebration of Degas’ style – his use of colour and light (both of which do stand him aside from his impressionist peers) and, like his original studies of the Little Rats, pay homage to them and their growing mastery of the art of ballet.

Connecting to Scylla’s exhibition and running around the back of the museum is that of Mihailsk, who is one of the most expressive single-frame storytellers in Second Life. Emotive, often rich in metaphor as well as shooting straight from the hip, Mihailsk’s work spans both colour and monochrome, the stories wrapped within them.

On the upper floor, Monique presents something of a retrospective of her avatar-focused photography, which – as with Mihailsk – is generally centred on her own avatar and marvellously expressive and rich on both narrative and, frequently, a degree of subtext. Her exhibitions tend to be thematically driven and often highly sensual in nature, and the latter is clearly observable in several of the pieces in this collection – and should potentially be regarded as NSFW.

At the risk of repeating myself, Selen is also a richly expressive artist, often working to a theme or idea, the pieces she produces richly layered both in terms of their use of colour and elements and in terms of their meaning / interpretation. As with Moni, the items presented in this collect form a retrospective of her work from 2020 through 2024.

Rounding out the exhibition, and located at the front of the museum and to the right of the entrance is Beach Time, a quite marvellous collection of monochrome photographs by Hermes, celebrating summer at the beach.

Engaging, beautifully presented and ideal for appreciating / purchasing, these 2D exhibitions make for a worthy visit, with Ilrya’s characters bringing the charm of their own visit to the museum. Those visiting can also wander the Kondor Art Garden outside of the museum, which is again hosting an exhibition of AI art by Milena Carbone.

SLurl Details

• Kondor Art Museum, Kondor Art Centre (Royal Tea, rated Adult)

It’s been a while since I’ve covered an exhibition at Lizbeth Morningstar’s Starborn Gallery, in part because Lizbeth has been busy with various projects, one of which has been the re-designed and expanded. To mark this, the gallery is officially re-opening on Saturday, June 15th, 2024 with a special event and a featured exhibition of new work by Lizbeth herself.

The gallery itself now covers three floors and, in a little touch I’ve not seen at a gallery before, includes a garden on the roof where visitors and patrons can not only relax, they have the opportunity to buy the plants and items found within the garden, as supplied by the Featured Store. A teleport board within the event space fronting the gallery and between it and the beachfront provides access to the roof gallery and to the various levels of the gallery – although the latter can all be reached from this the gallery itself.

Lizbeth has a very distinctive style with her photography, often leaning towards a sense of white contrast suggestive of intentional over-exposure, together with a use of soft focus and colour-washing that I’ve not seen used by other SL photographers. While it is not Lizbeth’s only approach to photographs – as I’ll come to – it does give her photography a unique tone and look: images with a sense of watercolour paintings or which have been given a gentle colour wash. It’s an attractive approach to photography, and well suited to landscape images whilst also working with pieces that include avatars. Further, there is a purity within this approach which is very much reflective of Lizbeth’s use of her SL photography as a means of meditative self-therapy.

It’s also an approach very much in evidence on the ground floor of the gallery, which features a large display of Lizbeth’s work to the left as one enters, and the feature exhibition, entitled Be Tough to the right.

The latter might be defined as a essay on the life of the modern professional woman; someone who is all too often required to be both feminine and tough and unforgiving at the same time, forced to compete with male colleagues on terms defined solely by those same male colleagues – but who can, at the same time, celebrate themselves for who they are and celebrate the moments of freedom and delight to be found within the sunny streets of the city or when out to meet friend at night. It’s also, as the introductory notes suggest, something of a celebration of Lizbeth’s relationship with her avatar: how the persona of her avatar is both a reflection of Lizbeth as she is, and a facet of her personality as she would at times like to be – something I think we can all recognise in our own relationships with our avatars.

The majority of the upper floors of the gallery feature a further exhibition of Lizbeth’s work, entitled Before Dawn. This showcases Lizbeth’s approach to night-time photography, in which there’s often that use of a softer focus but here combined with a more obvious use of layering and employment of deeper contract and colour enhancement. In this, Before Dawn perhaps demonstrates a boarder range of images, running from hauntingly mysterious forest scenes rich in a sense of enchantment, through city scenes filled with enigmatic light and streets filled with a soft neon glow suggestive of noir-like settings, to more personal pieces presenting moods and emotions.

Both Be Tough and Before Dawn are evocative in their ability to evoke and reflect mood. They also (and her I include the broader exhibition of Lizbeth’s art on the ground floor of the gallery alongside Be Tough) form a richly contrasting but complementary pairing, both in terms of the styles and themes enfolded in each, and in the manner in which the sections of the gallery have been outfitted by Lizbeth.

The official opening of the gallery will take place between 098:00 and 10:00 SLT on Saturday, June 15th, 2024 . I’m pleased to see Lizbeth make a return to operating Starborn Gallery and continuing her love of SL photography, and I look forward to seeing more exhibitions at the gallery.

SLurl Details

• Starborn Gallery (Starborn, rated Moderate)

Open through most of June 2024 at the Kondor Art Club, a part of Hermes Kondor’s Kondor Art Centre, is a solo exhibition by JudiLynn India which again demonstrates her extraordinary acrylic art, here given a digital edge through the considered use of post-processing via Procreate, a raster graphics editor developed for devices using Apple’s iOS and iPadOS.

JudiLynn has expressed a love of art and artistic expression for most of her life, studying the subject at both school and university, whilst also learning to play the piano, guitar and violin. Her art has always been a personal journey, one encompassing her outlook on life, her spirituality and her personality – which might be describes as vibrant, passionate and fuelled by a desire to create and explore. This latter aspect of her creativity has, over the last two decades, encouraged her to combining her love of acrylic painting with a growing appreciation of the potential presented by digital painting software and techniques.

All of this is fully displayed within Messages at the Kondor Art Club.

Occupying the full gallery space, this collection of some 40 digitally-enhanced, acrylic originals carries within it a familiar sense of the abstract and the natural – aspects of Judi’s work I have always enjoyed.

Each of the compositions offered is described as a spiritual adventure for the artist; something perhaps most clearly seen in the pieces carrying one or more circles within them – a motif, perhaps of the spirit’s enduring nature, and symbolising unending cycles – the embodiment of the alpha and the omega, if you will.

The use of the the circle is not the only symbol or motif to be found within these pieces; many include representations of writing. That the words /letters / symbols might be indecipherable makes no difference, their inclusion not only reflects the title of the the collection, they serve as a reminder that starting with art – in the form of simple paintings – and progressing to use of symbols, hieroglyphs and eventually the written word, we are a race of creatives (and in “written” I would also include the use of music, through its notations and interpretation, as both a means to communicate and to express ourselves), and also archivists; recording what we see, learn, love and cherish for both our out pleasure / knowledge and for those who will inevitably follow us.

In this Messages might be said to be an essay in art, a celebration of life, of humanity, nature and all that makes us individually and collectively unique. And like is, each of the compositions within this collection work collectively, each one adding its own lines to the exhibition’s narrative; yet at the same time each is unique and within its own voice, capable of standing on its own, ready to be appreciated just as richly on that basis as for any connection to the rest of the collection.

SLurl Details

• Kondor Art Club, Kondor Art Centre (Royal Tea, rated Adult)