Category: Art in Second Life

We’re fast approaching the end of April 2024, and I’m still playing catch-up on blogging (house renovations are SO much fun… or so some say!); so before the month goes *poof* in its entirety, I’m going to use this piece to squeeze three exhibitions into the one article. My apologies to the artists for doing so, as each of the three is really worthy of extended consideration in its own right, but I’m sure some readers will find the fact this article avoids my longer diatribal (if only that were an actual word…) meanderings into my subjective thoughts as to meaning and interpretation!

Fortunately, the three exhibitions I’m referencing are hoisted at the NovaOwl Gallery, operated by Uli Jansma, Ceakay Ballyhoo & Owl Dragonash, making visiting them a breeze (just accept the local Experience to hop between the gallery levels if you haven’t done so previously). They feature the work of three noted Second Life artists, Carelyna, Leonorah Beverly and Sina Sousa.

Located within both halves of the ground level gallery at NovaOwl is A Matter of Perspective by Sina Sousa, a collection of 12 pieces (including the small one mounted on an easel!) which – as the exhibition’s name suggests – offers a range of perspectives on life and the times in which we live.

Involved in Second Life since 2012, Sina has built a reputation for presenting works with contain both emotional subtext and relate to matter of identity – be it for the individual, group, or with society at large – whilst often mixing 3D elements in with her work when exhibiting it.

Such is the case with A Matter of Perspective. Here, strikingly presented as visual essays, Sina invites us to consider matter of identity in the modern world, life and the inevitability of death (and not just physical death, I would suggest, given the presentation of Memento Mori) and the times we are currently living through.

As is always the case with Sina, the images very much speak for themselves, and so I’m not going to overlay perceptions by wittering on about them further here!

Occupying NovaOwl’s Sky 1 gallery is Seen Through My Eyes, the most extensive of the three exhibitions, comprising some 27 images by Leonorah Beverly.

Presented within a space which Leonorah has added décor reflective of her love of steampunk and the exotic, Seen Through My Eyes offers a highly personal journey through Second Life, the images framed and rendered as paintings, the majority in colour, although four are presented as quite marvellous monochrome pieces.

Throughout this collection there is a wonderful sense of that these are lavish illustrations that were produced as a part of some Second Life equivalent of a Victorian or Edwardian era of a Grand Tour, and which have now come to be exhibited in their own right. This gives the exhibition something of a classic feel to it, as well as honouring the personal nature of Leonorah’s view of SL as a place to be visited and appreciated.

Located on the lowest floor of NovaOwl’s Sky #2 gallery, Carelyna presents Moonchild, a series of six captivating images which coupled with text elements occupying the wall spaces alongside them. The latter are very much integral to the exhibition, offering as they do a cyclical poem in blank verse with no definable start or end, but rather linking the images in an unending loop. Together, words and images offer reflections on love and romance, and the role of the Moon in both.

As is always the case with Carelyna’s work, the images are hauntingly beautiful in their rendering and evocative in their narrative. They stand both on their own as paintings, whilst also being perfectly intertwined as reflections of the poem’s endless cycle as one gazes around the room. Where you start makes no difference, each image and stanza opens the door by which one can travel through the images and poem and savour her visual meditations on love and romance.

Three superb Second Life artists presenting three imaginative and evocative exhibitions all within one gallery hub – so don’t miss out and hop on over the NovaOwl before these exhibitions draw to a close.

SLurl Details

• NovaOwl Landing Point (Novatron, rated General)

It has been a couple of years since I had the opportunity to visit and write about an installation by Gem Preiz in Second Life – the last time being in 2022, when I reviewed Exoplanet: One Step Further. So it was with a degree of expectation that I dropped into Selen’s Gallery to visit Gem’s Do You Like Gold?, an exhibition of work that is part museum, part retrospective, part homage to the humble prim and a delight for those who enjoy miniatures and Gem’s work.

I’ve followed Gem’s work for a fair number of years now, having first written about Cathedral Dreamer all the way back in 2014. Whilst primarily focused on 2D work in those earlier days, Gem also worked with 3D elements, his exhibitions frequently staged within 3D environments he specifically built for them, and included 3D components to help enhance the stories he folded into many of his installations – narrative also being an important part of his work (just consider Heritage: Vestiges and Heritage: Wrecks as examples of this narrative aspect).

In more rent years, Gem’s work has shifted to bring his love of architecture to the fore in 3D installations of the most marvellous kind, with his fractal works often taking on more of the supporting role – or in some cases, tucked away as easter eggs awaiting discovery. 2020’s Arcadia is a good example of this, together with the impressive Skyscrapers of the same year.

Within Do you Like Gold? Gem takes us on something of a retrospective of a number of his more 3D-centric installations – notably Demiurge, Skyscrapers and Arcadia – in the form of reproductions of some of the structures used in those installations, which here have been given a gold leaf effect finish. Each structure is presented on its own plinth, together with notes on both its inspiration from the physical world and details on the installation(s) in which it appeared.

Offered at scals of 1/40th, 1/25 and 1/10th, some with the flying vehicles Gem provided within them to help give a sense of scale, the models sit as graceful reminders that, in an age of mesh there is still much to be said for the beauty which can be achieved via the humble prim and prim linkset.

What I particularly like about this installation is the manner in which the individual structures displayed within it allow us to fully appreciate how Gem has taken his love of architectural masterpieces in the physical world – those both built and imagined and freely interpreted them within his various installations. It may not have been obvious, for example, that both 2018’s Demiurge and 2020’s skyscrapers incorporated the proposed Bride Tower (Basra, Iraq), or the likes of the Hotel de la Marine (Paris) or the US Capitol Building in Washington D.C. lay tucked away within Arcadia.

Hence why Do You Like Gold is so multi-faceted as an installation – and worth taking the time to visit. And should you do so, be sure to give it a decent amount of time; not all of the miniatures within it are as static as they might appear to be; courtesy of a rezzing system they will change.

SLurl Details

• Do You Like Gold – Selen’s Gallery (Royale, rated Moderate)

Maison de la Chouette is a new art venue – at least for me – operated by the veritable Owl Dragonash, a superb patron of the arts herself, and also a talented Second Life photographer. A further gallery nestled within the Corsica South Coasters area, it joins the likes of NovaOwl and the galleries at Port Emyniad (and locations in between) in presenting the opportunity for visitors to explore the local landscape and trails and appreciating a rich variety of SL art (see: Art and a walk in Southern Corsica in Second Life).

I was drawn to Maison de la Chouette specifically because it is, throughout March and April, hosting an exhibition of art by Noa Cloud. The holder and creator of [REN] (of Noa is perhaps best known amongst SL explorers as the holder and creator of [REN], which I last visited in May 2023 (see: The idyllic beauty of REN in Second Life). Noa is a gifted writer, a musician and actor, and himself an explorer of Second Life. He is also a talented photographer-artist ([REN] is also home to his own gallery) with a focus on SL landscape and avatar studies.

At Owl’s Maison, he is presenting fifteen images showcasing his landscape work, and they are both beautifully rendered and carry a depth of artistic express which mark them as instantly purchasable for display in anyone’s SL home. Several of the pieces offer images of SL’s wildlife and animals, generally casting them in the most delightful way of telling a little stories of love, companionship, childhood and fun, utilising characters he discovered on his journeys around SL.

The images are present in both panoramic and square formats, with the latter offering a patterned border around them. This reminded me of the old postage stamps with there “crenelated” edges resulting from being torn off of their printed sheets along the perforations surrounding them. This patterning adds to the sense of these images belonging to a special collectable set.

Noa’s gift in his photography is to combine a skilled eye for framing and cropping with an equally keen eye for spotting both detail and the opportunity to offer a story with his work. The result is that there is a certain visual poetry imbued in the finished pieces; a suggestion that if they haven’t had a story or poem written about them, then one is due. Just take Solitary as an example of this or, on a more humorous and enchanting level, Beby Bird (which also stands as testament to the creativity of whoever is responsible for this pairing of birds).

Not that these are pieces that need to be dissected to be appreciated; they can be enjoyed very much in and of themselves, and the setting within Maison de la Chouette’s gentle Tuscan flair of villa and terrace (the is displayed both indoors (both floors) and out) demonstrate how perfectly Noa’s images lend themselves for display at home.

I understand that the “opening” party for the exhibition – in reality, a mid-point celebration – is to be held on March 19th, 2024, commencing at 13:00 SLT with live music by Grace Loudon, followed by a DJ set from 14:00 SLT. Might see you there!

Slurl Details

• Maison de la Chouette (Novatron, rated General)