Category: Art in Second Life

“Photography is my passion in here and it s what keeps me coming back,” states Hillany Scofield, “Hills” to her friends. “I love to experiment and to discover new things and  I love to get inspired.”

If anyone needed any proof of her talent as one of Second life’s foremost avatar portraiture photographers, they need only visit her Flickr stream to see her creativity at work.  However, throughout October, they can get up close and personal with some of her more recent work by visiting her own Hills Gallery in-world, which is currently featuring a display of her images simply entitled A Photography Selection.

The images are all a part of a series Hills took for Photography magazine, published by Joaopedro Oh, and which for October features Hills’ work alongside Awesome Fallen, Darklyn Dover, Migan Forder, to name but three.

Within A Photography Selection there is a mix of erotic and non-erotic pieces, with the former very much focused on the sensual rather than the sexual. However, nudity is in some of the images, so they might be considered NSFW. However, there is far more here than “just” nude studies.

Noted for her use of both monochrome and a studied balance of colour, Hills’ images are always extraordinary in their composition and presentation, and this is true of the pieces on display in this selection, which offers a clear demonstration of her eye for composition and balance through pose, structure and tone.

All told, a superb series of studies, all beautifully presented in a gallery which is itself an eye-catching design, and perfectly suited to the occasion of displaying Hill’s work.

SLurl Details

• Hills Gallery, Cafemar (Rated: Adult)

The latest exhibition of art to feature at the superb Dathúil Gallery, owned by Max Butoh and curated by Lυcy (LucyDiam0nd), opened on Friday, October 2nd. It is something of a slight departure from the monthly exhibitions held up until now. Rather the focus on the work of a particular artist or artistic coupling, the exhibition features the “top twenty” selection from this year’s  Chamber Society Photography Competition, and which have been selected from a total of over 90 entries overall.For those unfamiliar with it, [the Chamber] is a private members club also owned and operated by Max, and is one of several establishments also located on the same region – Floris – as the Dathúil gallery.

The focus of the club is “to create a deep and erotic atmosphere for role-play and erotic chat for members. We focus on politeness and manners with a twist. Our members expect intelligent, lively conversation and imagination along with beautiful and detailed surroundings.” Membership requires adherence to a dress code, an understood code of conduct, and observation of the society’s rules.

As one might imagine, given the erotic overtures within [the Chamber], the images on display within the gallery  are of a similarly erotic nature, with many among them perhaps NSFW.

Now in its third year, the competition awards prizes for the top three entries, which have been awarded to Ziekling Bunnyhug (1st place), Yum Parkin (2nd) and Ossia Xevion and Janet Patton (joint 3rd). The four winning entries are displayed at the front of the gallery space, with the remaining top twenty selections ranged around both the main floor and mezzanine, each piece individually displayed on an easel with the photographer’s name displayed above it.

While nudity is evident in some of the images (hence the NSFW warning above), it is not a common theme to all, and the overall approach of the photographers tends towards subtle eroticism, rather than blatant titillation. In this, as with [the Chamber] itself, the exhibition further gives the lie to the misconception held by some pundits that Adult themed locations in Second life are by default indicative of “pornographic” content.

All told, another excellent exhibition from Lucy and Max which offers another window onto the range of creative and artistic talent which exists within Second Life.

SLurl Details

• Dathúil Gallery (Rated: Adult)

Open now, and for approximately two weeks at Solodonna Land’s Art on Roofs gallery space operated by Sniper Siemens and Elettra Beardmore and curated by Terrygold, is an exhibition of  images by noted Second Life photographer Ziki Questi.

In Line and Shadow, Ziki notes that she offers images taken at various locations (including Art on Roofs itself), between May and September 2015, together with a series of erotic images she has taken of herself and partner Kinn, to present a display of some 24 images in total.

Ziki’s work has always been captivating to the eye, and the images on display here are no exception. Her familiar panoramic image ratio is once again used to enormous effect, bringing forth her subject matter perfectly.

Some of the images on offer form what might be considered something of a Second Life retrospective, because while some of the images feature places we can visit and enjoy today, such as Sommergewitter and Bella Place; many of the landscapes featured belong to places which have now sadly passed into memory, such as Roche, Santaurio and The Forgotten City.

Art installations are also very much a feature, and unsurprisingly so, given Ziki’s extensive coverage of the arts in SL. Thus it is that visitors will encounter images of Bryn Oh’s piece for Distrito Distinto, which recently featured at MetaLES, Neva Crystall’s HuManoID, Alpha Auer’s Alpha Tribe, and Storm Septimus’ Failure to Thrive.

Interspersed between the landscape and art images are the more personal / erotic pieces. These offer a strong contrast in terms of content whilst further demonstrating Ziki’s measured eye for composition and framing.

This is yet another impressive display of work by an artist whose reputation is well-deserved, and who never fails to capture the very essence of her subject matter, presenting images which both captivate and entice.

SLurl Details

• Line and Shadow (Rated: Moderate)

Noted SL photographers Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade have come up with a new approach to exhibiting art in Second Life, and they’re calling it “pop up art”. Bear explains the idea in a press release thus:

We’ve watched as galleries flicker in and out of existence, and had shows at several. Two things are consistent: nothing is permanent, and even with the most relentless, ongoing promotion, visitor numbers drop off dramatically after the opening and reach near zero long before a month – the usual length of gallery shows – is up.

Instead of fighting it, we’ve decided to embrace the ephemeral nature of Second Life and experiment with pop-up galleries. It goes like this: Rent a piece of suitable land, set up our work and open it to the public, but just for a couple of weeks.

For their inaugural exhibition using the idea, the couple have rented an open-air space in Bay City – Falconmoon, where they’ll be opening a joint exhibit at 14:00 SLT on Saturday, September 19th. Derry’s half of the exhibit is called Double Vision and presents pairs of images she has created – one from the physical world, one from the virtual. These are not designed to offer pairs of similar images (although a couple are wonderfully alike), but rather offer insight into Derry art on both sides of the digital divide.

Bear’s pieces, as he notes, are largely taken from his monochrome Lonely Streets of Second Life series – a series I’ve always particularly admired, mixing a couple of his physical world images in with them as well. Taken together, the rich colours on Derry’s work facing Bear’s austere black-and-white pieces serve to complement one another very well.

Continuing the press release notes, Bear says of the approach – which originated as an idea with Derry:

The short time frame is key. For the patrons, it gives them more incentive to get out and see the show; no putting it off because “There’s plenty of time.” For us, it gives us the freedom to experiment and not feel tied down.

We can set up when and where we want, with whatever style we want. They might happen in different places once a month, or once every six months – whatever feels right.

I think it’s potentially a clever approach. As Bear says, it overcomes the issues of holding a gallery permanently open, generates interest in an exhibition due to the shorter time frame and could, if due consideration is given to the spaces which are rented-out for such exhibits, perhaps make them a part of an exhibition as much as the images on display. Kudos to Derry for the idea, and to her and Bear both for taking it on the road, so to speak.

SLurl Details

• Pop-up Art, Bay City Falconmoon (Rated: Moderate)