Category: Art in Second Life

It was back to Kondor Art Centre for me once more, this time for a visit to the Art Garden to witness a new exhibition of Second Life centric art by Stevie Basevi.

Stevie is probably best known as the owner of the Sanctuary RP Community, which operates across three regions offering a mix of themed role play and combat. Outside of this, she has worked extensively with the American Cancer Society (14 years) and One Billion Rising, and is a member of The Seanchai Library’s Special Projects Creative team.

By her own admission, Stevie has only relatively recently become immersed in Second Life photography. However, she has quickly and deservedly gained recognition for her approach and style, and has been featured in numerous exhibitions, and her range covers both avatar studies – she has worked as a fashion photographer of BOSL – and SL landscapes.

She is also, like myself, a Second Life traveller, capturing memories of the places she visits as photographs; and with Capturing Serenity, An Exploration of SL, she provides a pleasurable taste of both her travels and her work in this latter regard.

I wander the grid in search of scenes that connect my emotions and feelings from my eyes to my heart. The things that I photograph, I don’t photograph them because I wanted an image of a particular thing. I went to the regions, looked around and waited for something to connect with me, to call out for me to come, visually commune, and make my heart sing.

– Stevie Basevi

The exhibition in the Kondor Art Garden presents twelve pieces by Stevie, all perfectly suited for viewing under a night-time sky setting (as seen here). They reveal a handful of some of Second Life’s most popular public destinations, including Elvion (4 images and a frequent feature in these pages), Sainte Rose sur Mer (4 images, and also featured in these pages), the Karasu Estate (2 images), Blossomvale and Summerville (1 image apiece).

All twelve images are superbly captured, framed and cropped, Stevie using a minimum of post-processing (something I try to do with my images, but not with the same skill as Stevie demonstrates). They are also all finished in colours than emphasise the title of the exhibition, presenting each of the locations at a place evocative of serenity and peace; rich in a sense of nature and the ability for humanity to live in harmony with the natural world.

Capturing Serenity, An Exploration of SL officially opens at 12:00 noon on Thursday, July 18th, the opening featuring music by DJ Joss Floss (jossinta). However, the exhibition has already had a soft opening ahead of time, and is available for viewing as of the time of writing this piece.

SL Details

• Kondor Art Garden (Royal Tea, rated Adult)

Haiku (Haiku Quan) is perhaps bet known in two capacities. The first is as the founder of the Free Museum, which she present visitors to obtain art  – with the permission of the artists themselves – from across Second life for free, as I wrote about shortly after it opened in January 2022 (see: The Free Museum of art in Second Life). The second is as the host and organiser of a range of musical events and concerts, notably for art events at Akiko Kinoshi (a.kiko) Art hub of Akipelago, where she books and hosts between two and three concerts a week.

However, Haiku is also a photographer in her own right, and is currently exhibiting some of her work at the Hermit Gallery at Saint Elizabeth’s University. Spread across the three levels of the warehouse-like gallery, The Dignity of Things offers a curious yet nonetheless charming look at what might be called “the extraordinary everyday”; the focus being on the kind of everyday items we might find in the physical world and which have been reproduced in Second Life.

From coffee percolators to toys, ornaments hairbrushes and even eggs, The Dignity of Things presents a series of images of the items we so often take for granted for one of several reasons: because of their utilitarian nature; or because they are designed to highlight the beauty of their contents – as with flower vases; or simply because even if they do contain a natural beauty or attractiveness of their own, our daily familiarity with them causes us to overlook them more than “see” them. Yet, again as Haiku notes, they all nevertheless has a dignity of form entirely of its own.

Each item is featured on its own, with little in the way of any background that might otherwise draw our attention from the subject of the picture. This gives each image a minimalist look and feel which – to a degree – put me in mind of Melusina Parkin’s minimalist photography. Now to be clear, this is not to say Haiku is in any way directly mimic Melusina’s unique approach; where Melusina’s images tend towards being off-set in focus relative to their subject, and utilise unique angles, Haiku uses a more direct, face-on approach, focused solely on each item- a clear differentiator between her work and Melu’s. Nevertheless, like Melu’s work, the overall minimalism of Haiku’s pieces allows us to focus fully on each subject and – to use Haiku’s words – its inherent dignity, whilst (again also like Melu’s photography) each picture suggests a wider narrative that exists beyond the bounds of the picture frame.

A further attractive aspect of these pictures is the fact they appear to be minimally post-processed; there is a natural rawness to each one, giving it realism that others often seek to produce through complex post-process editing. This, coupled with the elements noted above, makes these pieces so engaging.

However, there is another aspect to these pictures that I found attractive: their framing is such that not only are we made to focus on each of their subjects, we are also encouraged to consider the creativity and skill that brought them into Second Life. This in turn overlaps with the larger narrative alluded to: the fact that all of the subjects in this collect of images reflect items we can find around us in the physical world, all of which also have a dignity of beauty and creativity – either the result of Nature or due to a combination of practical form meeting purpose and / or man-made processes and creativity behind them.

All of the pieces in this collection are offered for free, in keeping with Haiku’s approach to offering art at no cost, making them attractive to those looking for very individual pieces of art for their SL homes.

SLurl Details

• Hermit Gallery, Saint Elizabeth’s University (Dark Dreamer, rated Adult)

Whilst I’ve been familiar with the photography of Alex Riverstone for a fair while and have covered his work in these pages, I hope he’ll forgive me for the fact I hadn’t twigged he’s now curating his own gallery space – Sugarfish Photography – which is currently home to a selection of his own work and a joint exhibition featuring both Alex and Harlo Jamison (HarlowJamison).

Located on a sky platform, Sugarfish Gallery featured four exhibition spaces gathered around a central terrace / event space for opening parties. It’s a simple, minimalist design which allows each of the gallery units to present the art it contains to the best advantage, naturally allowing works to be grouped by artist and / or theme as required, with each building a short walk from the last.

At the time of my visit, Sugarfish was mid-way through the joint exhibition by Harlo and Alex, entitled Shades of Erotica (set to end mid-July 2024). Occupying three of the four gallery spaces this is, as one might expect from its title, an exhibition leaning strongly into erotica and adult themes, with some of the images definitely in the not suitable for work (NSFW) category – so if you are of an overly sensitive disposition, please consider yourself warned. The remaining building is home to a cross-section of Alex’s landscape photography.

I’ve always appreciated Alex’s landscape photographs from around Second Life; he has a knack of capturing the essence of a location and / or presenting the core of an idea through pieces that are framed and cropped in a manner that is visually attractive. A further facet of Alex’s work is his use of style – colour, monochrome, black and white – in which to present a mood or sense of emotion. All of this is very much demonstrated in the selection of pieces displayed at Sugarfish, the pieces within the hall neatly grouped by theme or style.

Alex’s art also feature in two of the three halls given over to Shades of Erotica (with one of the halls also forming the Sugarfish gallery), with Harlo’s taking up the remaining hall.

An exhibit of erotic and sensual Second Life photos … Join us for an exploration of sensuality, let the images speak to you, inspire you, and awaken your senses. Whether you’re a connoisseur of photography or simply seeking to be moved, this showcase promises something for everyone.

– Alex Riverstone on Shades of Erotica

Given the nature of Shades, these are avatar-centric photographs, with Alex’s pieces offering what might be regarded as sets built along interconnected themes and utilising (I believe) the same model. Outside of the use of nudity / semi-nudity, these are pieces touching upon common themes of erotica activities: clothing (boots, stockings, latex clothing, heels); activities (D/s games, bondage), and the the use of pose and focus to offer a feeling of sensual suggestion.

With her pieces, Harlo explores similar avenues, whilst also offering pieces of a more narrative style in terms of how they might be interpreted, as well as enfolding elements of eroticism and sexuality drawn from a broader canvas (so to speak).

Whilst not the first piece within her gallery space, Red2 Shadows Him helps set the tone of Harlo’s pieces. It sits on the left wall of the hall relative to the entrance, and thus sits close to one of the rooms displaying Alex’s art. It features a model seated on a stool, front lit and casting a shadow. In this it follows on from a series of images from Alex on the same lines (Shy Model). Here, and unlike Alex’s pieces, the silhouette of a male figure  dominates one side of the photo. Thus, Red2 Shadows Him offers both a narrative in its own right and also sense of continuity between the two artists’ work in both content and titles (Shadows him = follows Alex’s images).

These dual-layer narrative can be found elsewhere in Harlo’s selection. Gentlemen & BadBoys, for example, both suggests the making of an erotic ménage à trois whilst also hinting at the issues of temptations which might be prevalent in relationships (the woman’s hand reaching back for the the man behind her even as she is hugged by her lover. Meanwhile, Ladies & Harlo’ts, only offers a tongue-in-cheek play on Harlo’s name, it offers both a tale of refined sensuality touching on three people, whilst the black and white finish and clothing carries is suggestion of harking back 100 years and a period when taboos started to be broken more openly, even if they weren’t entirely broken down for many more decades to come.

Elegant, explicit, sensual and sexual, Shades of Erotica is engaging through out.

SLurl Details

• Sugarfish Photography (Forgotten Tales, rated adult)

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)