Category: Art in Second Life

There is something about Monique Beebe’s avatar-centric images that never fails to attract my attention. Her work has a unique blend of art, narrative, post-processing skill, and layering that allows her to create single-frame stories that carry a depth of mean that demands the attention of the eye and mind.

This is once again the case with Images of Decay, which opened at Mareea Farrasco’s IMAGOLand (Gallery 1b – use the teleport disk at the landing point) on September 2nd. Here Moni offers a selection of images with a central theme which wraps itself in layer of possible interpretation – whilst also allowing the observer to view them as intriguing studies in the use of light, colour and balance to present a captivating self-portrait.

The title of the exhibition – Images of Decay – might sound a little off-putting, but as noted, it can be taken on a number of levels. Predominantly offered in dark dark tones and colours – burnt umber, burgundy reds, shades of black and grey, these are intentionally “dark” images, each piece post-processed to add a rusting, metallic look to it, a discolouration that marks face, breast, arm, and so on. In some of the images, it is highly pronounced, in others it is more of a mottling. In one or two cases, due to the use of projected light and post-processed filters, it is subtle enough to give the impression of tattooing.

As a first interpretation, this filtering / colouring might be seen as simple expressive colour play on the part of the artist. On another, and taking the title of the exhibition into consideration, they might be might be seen as experiments in giving a sense of age / the passage of time to the images themselves. It might also be taken as a reflection of life itself, and the undeniable fact that we are all doomed to grow older, age, whither, die and decay; that the beauty / vitality we have today is actual impermanent – but in being so, it is also part of life’s greater cycle.

This latter layer narrative is perhaps most clearly seen within the trio of images Girl, Lady, Woman, the idea of aging is clearly represented in the images as we take each in turn. So so might they also speak to how society can perceive women as they age, and our beauty is seen as fading over time (or to put it another way, decaying with the passage of time).

There is an emotional content present within these pieces that adds additional layers to them. Many either directly or indirectly draw attention to the subject – to Moni’s – eyes, be it through the use of masks or eye shadow to highlight them, or face masks bubble gum or even  the wrap of a turban to obscure other parts of the face or the eyes themselves. In this way, we are drawn to each image and inhabit the emotions we might perceive as being present within them. Elsewhere, this emotional content is transmitted through the use of pose and lighting.

In places, this emotional element speaks directly to the idea of decay and the passage of time, in others, in other, the idea of decay emphasises the emotional content of a piece. Take, for example, Innocence and Light of Sadness. Within them the colours of decay do much to convey the essential emotion within them – the loss of innocence if the former, and the pain of sadness in the latter.

Taken individually as as a whole, this is another richly engaging exhibition by Moni, one that should not be missed.

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• IMAGOLand main landing point (Broken Mountain, rated Moderate)

It’s been a while since my last visit to Rainbow Painters Art Gallery, operated and curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Dumpling (Patience Roxley), and there have been some changes made since that last visit, of which more below. However, I was specifically drawn by to the gallery following the August 26th opening of the latest themed exhibition there, this one on the subject of Black and White images.

More than 50 artists responded to the call for pieces the gallery put out ahead of the exhibition, and this has given rise to a remarkably diverse exhibition that spans Second Life photography, photography from the physical world, line drawings in pencil, graphite and India ink, and paintings, with subjects ranging from still life, portraits and avatar studies to landscape and nature studies, reflections on art, and pieces touching on the abstract.

I did not see any catalogue of artists as being supplied when I dropped in, although individual displays do carry a name board for the artist for it. I’m also not sure on the overall criteria for submissions quotas; some artists have 4-6 images on offer (some even more!) others just one or two. However, both of these points make the exhibition a place to be explored at length in order to see of all of the art on offer. Further, the sheer volume of artists involved also means that there are bound to be displays and pieces offered that will appeal to anyone interested in art in Second Life.

Given there are over 50 artists participating, I’m not going to list everyone here – doing so can all too often sound like a space-filling litany. I will say there there is a good cross-section of names that will likely be familiar to many who visit galleries and exhibitions in Second Life (Matt Thompson (Mth63), Eta (Etamae), Sheba Blitz, Angel Heartsong, Chuck Clip, Therese Carfagno, Ilyra Chardin, for example), together with names that may be new to some or at least perhaps not generally noted as participating in art events – I was particularly delighted to come across a trio of pieces submitted by friend and colleague, Erik Mondrian, whilst Sandralee Palianta’s collection of exquisite Sharpie Pen drawings simply captivated me.

It always feels unfair to single out just two or three artists from such ensemble exhibitions, simple because of sense of favouritism that results – but then, art is subjective. This being the case, and without any casting of shade on those I don’t mention, I will say that I found Sandralee’s work compelling not least because of the etching-like quality contained within each piece, and the balance of light and dark to be found within all of them, from the deco-esque “Lady” pictures through the plant and flower studies.

Angel Heartsong’s quartet of avatar portraits, meanwhile, held my attention for the manner in which they breathe life into their subjects in a way that colour avatar studies, no matter how well processed after the fact, can often miss; while alongside Angel’s work, Viktor Savior’s set of Japanese style wall hangings complete with verses in Russian and English, equally held my eye for the simplicity and complexity within them.

Truth be told, it’s hard not to be engaged by each display offered within the gallery as you come to it, but I will say that of them all, one piece in particular quite took my breath away – and I cannot even properly attribute it!

Together We Stand by Heather (I can give no more than this as the artist’s name is not provide when editing the image, only those of Timo and the frame’s creator) is an utterly perfect black-and-white study that encompasses  so much: balance, framing, angle, motif, narrative, depth of field, use of vignette and chiaroscuro techniques, lighting and shadow, and more, to present an utterly and genuinely exquisite piece that (sadly) is not offered for sale, but which fully deserves all the admiration it receives.

As noted at the top of this piece, there have been some changes at Rainbow Painters since my last visit. The first of these is the Rainbow Painters Maze – which as the name implies, is a walk through a maze in which pieces from a number of artists is display and which can all be seen in turn by going the wrong way through it (check the arrows on the floor!). The second change (for me at least!) is that a pair of gazebo-style structures that respectively house a display of art and poetry by Mountain String and another selection of pieces by various artists. Both the maze and the gazebos sit to the front of the main gallery, flanking either side of the events stage and the gallery’s landing point, and can nicely round-out a visit to the gallery.

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• Rainbow Painters Art Gallery (Chadara, rated Moderate)

Biancajane Juliesse has been involved in art and painting since she was four years old and her mother gave her a paint by numbers oils set. From the start she fell in love with both the smell of the paint and the creative opportunities it presented.

The love affair continues to this day: known in the physical world as Mary Sparrow, Biancajane is a gifted artist whose work has shipped to over 30 countries around the world. Specialising in fine art creating commissioned heirloom portraits for over 25 years, and also works closely with interior designers to create custom artwork for residential and commercial spaces.

While she came to Second Life primarily as a means to relax, she became involved in its creative potential in a number of ways, such as her prefabs and furnishing business in-world, and through the exhibition and sale of prints of her original art.

A selection of that art can now be seen at Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery at an exhibition that officially opens on September 1st, 2021 – although it is open to the public now – and runs through until November 1st. In all, some 20 pieces are presented, the majority of them portraits, although a neat little selection of famous perfume brands is also offered.

The portraits are utterly captivating in their depth and detail. Several of the pieces include the subject’s pets – notably dogs – which adds a further layer of personality to them. As a cat lover, I particularly love the image of a woman in a red evening gown with her long-haired Siamese cat seated on a cushion at her feet. While the woman may be the intended focus of the picture, Biancajane has purrfectly captured the cat’s expression and the fact it knows who the real subject of the picture actually is!

As well as pictures that appear to have been posed, the selection also includes group and individual pictures that have a marvellous sense of immediacy about them, like snapshots that unexpectedly capture a moment of sheer, unstaged joy or a moment where thought distracts the subject, again adding a sense of life and vitality to them.

Rounded out by a portrait of Frida Kahlo, famous for her own portraiture and self-portraits, this is an engaging exhibition, with individual pieces offered for sale. A couple do appear to be mis-labelled, but this is a minor distraction, and while I would have liked to see some of Biancajane’s animal and landscape paintings among the selection (yes, I know, I’m greedy!), this is nevertheless a selection of start that will engage the eye and mind of any patron of the arts in Second Life and is more than worth a visit.

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• Sisi Biedermann Gallery and Garden (Caisteal Maol, rated Moderate)

August 26th, 2021 saw the opening of a joint exhibition at Carelyna’s ArtCare Gallery. featuring the work of two very different artists whose work nevertheless presents something of a whole when presented side-by-side.

Anja (Neobookie) describes herself as a Second Life photographer who enjoys exploring Second Life and capturing the places she visits – as witnessed with her Flickr stream.  However, as she has demonstrated in recent exhibitions, she has a gift for creating pieces of surrealist art that perfectly encompass the richness of that movement, and at ArtCare she presents six large-format pieces in proof of this.

Each offers a backdrop of a wooden fence in front of which has been strung a washing line, and it is what is on the line that forms the focus of each piece. Offered in vibrant colours, these subject range from surf boards to toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, passing by way of  Minion handbags and melting ice lollies. and more.

These are images that initially appear simple in their presentation, rich in colour but which – for those who look – perhaps offer a little comment on life and living (might Minion Bags, for example a commentary on the drive for us all to conform as best we can to the dictates of  modern consumerism, and Ice Ice Baby a reflection on the passage of time (or the brevity of summer?). But however you take them, there is no mistaking the joy and lightness each piece offers when simply taken in its ability to bring together the ordinary and the extraordinary to create completely something truly unique and engaging.

Therese Carfagno is an artist with an intriguing range of styles and presentation that can encompass real and Second Life photography, her work touching upon abstraction, collage, impressionism, expressionism and more.

The pieces offered at ArtCare very much reflect this richness; they are also offered as “families” or “collections” of themed images, ranging from pairs of pieces through to a quartet entitled Blood. Within them we can find abstraction in the form of Wall, collage in the triple set entitled Sophia and digital overlays with the Sita pairing – and more, including a touch of sensuality a triple set of monochrome pieces. However, the most striking set is that of Blood, a quartet of portraits, again monochrome, that offer a depth of narrative that forces the attention to come back to it over and over.

The contrast between these two small exhibitions couldn’t be stronger in terms of colour: Anja’s works are all vibrantly saturated in their use of colour, their brightness infectious. With the exception of the Wall and Sophia series, Therese’s selection is generally heavier in tone – if not mood;  the colours more muted, and lean more towards monochrome. Individually, they are very different selections, yet together they offer a flow of art and style from one to the other that is impressively engaging.

Needless to say, a visit to this joint exhibition is highly recommended.

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• ArtCare Gallery (Prychek, rated Moderate)