Category: Art in Second Life

Giovanna Cerise is an artist whom I’ve admired for years. Her work, which spans both the virtual and the physical, is exceptional, whether seen as an individual piece, or as a complete installation.

As I recently reported, she has recently returned to artistic expression through Second Life after a hiatus of several years, opening a studio gallery at Campbell Coast – and I’m particularly honoured and delighted to announce that Giovanna is the first artist to appear at the Phoenix Artists Collaboration as a Featured Artist.

Officially opening on Saturday, February 6th, 2021 at PAC, is a special display of art Giovanna has put together, entitled Traces. It marks her first formal exhibition since her return to Second Life – although it will obviously not be her last. It  presents a mix of her work, past and present;  however, I’ll let Giovanna describe Traces in her own words:

The exhibition traces some of the stages of the artist’s production.

The proposed works were made with various techniques and testify to the evolution of his artistic career. On the ground floor there are some works made only with prim, dating back to 2010-2011 and three unpublished works: two sculptures and an installation created for this occasion.

On the upper floor, one side of the gallery is dedicated to some works made in second life, but which were then exhibited some physically others with videos in the real world. The exhibition itinerary is completed with the proposal of some more recent works which were included in installations and which cannot be reproduced here.

– Giovanna Cerise, February 2021

Spread across the two floors of the gallery, commencing with the captivating Senza Titolo (“Without Title”),  this is an exhibition that is not just to be seen, but experienced, the pieces positioned through the gallery’s spaces in such a manner as to present the feeling the visitor is moving through them as much as the gallery itself; text elements on the floor before some of them adding to this sensation.

On the upper floor of the gallery is the opportunity to witness how Giovanna’s work has been celebrated in the physical world, where she has worked alongside other Second life and Physical world arts alumni such as Patrick Moya (Moya Janus in SL).

As well as the text elements on the gallery floor spaces, pieces may also be accompanied by information givers so that visitors can learn more about them, whilst several of the individual pieces are available to purchase for those who wish to add them to their collection.

The official opening of Traces will be marked at 13:00 SLT on Saturday, February 6th, with music by our friend and colleague, Joaquin Gustav from 13:15 SLT, at the event space immediately in front of the main gallery.  please do be sure to join us.

SLurl Details

• PAC Featured Artist Gallery (Cherished Melody, rated Moderate)

Currently available the Monocle Man Gallery, curated by Kit Boyd and Lynx Luga, is an outstanding exhibition by Hiliare Beaumont. Untitled, it presents a series of self-portrait avatar studies that are – despite the fact I often use this phrase with regards to art exhibitions in Second Life – genuinely rich in their depth of narrative and content.

These are piece that bring together a range of inspirations – literature, film, music, elements of fantasy, historical drama to present pieces that are evocative, layered and often highly emotive. Through their presentation, these are pieces that illustrate the fact that Hilaire was initially drawn to Second Life as a place of role-play, and has since grown towards photography as a means of expression and emotional release.

The role-play aspect can perhaps be seen in the likes of Le Fantome de l ‘Opera, Clown and Lullaby of Woe, together with Old Man, Diggin’ My Grave and The Wild Horde. These last three, intentionally or otherwise, sit together almost as three parts of an evolving story whilst also each standing in their own right; there is within each of them a wonderful sense of the classic western of the Ford or Leone eras.

Both Le Fantome and Clown have very defined origins, but bring with them a real sense of emotion about them that might not be quite in keeping with our usual thinking about the characters they represent: introspection in one, and a suggestion of unemotional, calculated logic with the other. However, of these particular images, Lullaby of Woe is the piece that most acutely caught my attention in the way the story it suggests seemed to flow between various characters, from Sherlock Holmes through to Dr. Jekyll and back, complete with hints of both James Moriarty and Mr. Hyde.

Other pieces may not directly draw thoughts toward fictional pieces or film, but their emotional content is just as incredibly captivating. Aux Sombres Heros de L’amer (taking its title from the song by French rock group Noir Désir?)  and Je ‘t en remets au vent, for example, are powerfully evocative of a broader story (as well as having a marvellous sense of the 19th century about them).

Alongside of these sit Sympathy and Mother, two pieces that are simply packed with expression and emotion, particularly for anyone who has recently lost a family member. Both are also a tour de force in framing, depth of field, image depth, and camera angle; each genuinely standing as a life study you do not so much view as step into.

The simple truth is that each and every one of these images has something to say, so much so that a book could easily be written about this exhibition. But equally, the fact that they do is more than adequate reason for going along to the gallery and view them for yourself; they demonstrate the truth of what can oft seem a tired adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. All of the pieces are offered for sale at an incredibly modest price, and I understand that all proceeds are going to support the gallery directly.

SLurl Details

• Monocle Man Gallery (Monocle Man, rated Adult)

Now open through most of February at the Kultivate Signature Gallery is an exhibition of Second Life landscape photography by Anouk Lefavre.

There is something intensely fascinating about Anouk’s images. Gently post-processed, they have the look and feel of having been painted. The colours are perhaps a little heavier than watercolours, but are lighter than oils, so presenting her work as sitting between the two in a balance that is in itself captivating.

More than this, however, the the colours Anouk looks for in her images, together with her framing, means that her pieces are more than images of the places she has records, they are statements of the natural beauty of those places that draws you in. To quote SL photographer Brysen Miller when discussing Anouk’s work:

Truly thought provoking artwork, deep in rich colour tones [and] amazing capture that really make you feel as though you are there. Absolutely brilliant.

All of this is demonstrated in full in the twenty images offered at the Signature Gallery. Nineteen of them are landscape images, with the 20th touching on Anouk’s other focus for photography: avatar studies. All are pieces guaranteed to hold the attention and, with the help of their titles, offer individual narratives that provoke the imagination.

However, I admit that of all the images presented, I found myself particularly drawn to the two central images, located on the second and upper floors of the gallery.Neatly split into three panels, they offer a form of latter-day triptych, the breaks between the panels offering an almost chapter-like view of each when viewed left-to-right, whilst equally presenting the complete picture / story when viewed as a whole, the divides between their panels barely interrupting the views they offer.

Which is not to say I in any way dismiss the other pieces; far from it – as noted above, all of them have a marvellous visual appeal.  It’s just that the triptych pieces would make for an ideal centrepiece in a home with a suitable fireplace and wall above it, while I am particularly drawn to the tighter focus and presentation of Behind Screen Memories.

But whether drawn to Anouk’s work because of her use of colour, or for the way she balances land and water in creating a scene or for the way she breathes natural life into an image, this is a selection of pieces that will both please the eye and gladden the mind with thoughts of warmer happier days to come.

SLurl Details

• Kultivate Signature Gallery (Water Haven, rated Moderate)

In December 2020 I visited Path to Oneself Reflection, an immersive and semi-interactive art installation by the SL Random Art Crew led by RoxkSie (Roxie Logan) that sought to  offer a look back at 2020  with its pandemic and divisions, and offer nudges for our thinking and outlook, and consider the ways in which the past years has both separated and united. It was an impressive and complex installation as I noted in A path of reflection in Second Life; in that piece, I also noted that the story of 2020 and its impact was far from over.

Thus is it that, officially opening on Monday, February 1st – although it has been available for the public to visit for that last couple of weeks – is what might be called the sequel to The Path, entitled Inner Self Awareness.

That it follows on from the Path is perhaps most clearly demonstrated by the fact Inner Self Awareness has a setting that is very much in keeping with its predecessor, although the actual focus of the installation is very different: whereas The Path encouraged us to look back over the past 12 months and consider how they have affected us both on an individual and societal level, Inner Self Awareness asks us to consider, what, as we emerge into a new year, we may have learnt from the past twelve months and how we might, as individuals, seek to move into the future and the changes (if any – change is not a subject everyone is comfortable with, as the installation duly notes in places) we might make in order to better embrace that future.  To quote RoxkSie directly:

We have lost so much that is fundamental to what we call our normal lives. We are going to learn what our new normal is very shortly. This will mean a lot of different things to everyone individually. The year that has passed us has shown more than ever that at times out thoughts are not united; however, there is a lot of good that can be obtained from this. Different mindsets build a diverse society.

As with The Path, this is an installation that encourages us to walk through a rugged landscape; one in which walls of rock, mountains and hills break the lowlands into a series of areas encircling a central body of water and high peak topped by a massive hand reaching upwards in what might be an attempt to reach beyond what we are and become the promise of what be might be.

In following the path and bridges through the landscape, we’re asked to consider a number of topics and how they might impact us, and we them: the nature of diversity, the ideals of choice and change, the challenge of acceptance and willingness to change, how we might better face the future as individuals and in  the benefit of humanity as a whole. Within these topics are couched responsibilities that affect us all, from dealing with the pandemic through to touching upon matters such as climate change.

All of makes Inner Self Awareness as very personal experience, one that is extremely difficult to transfer into words, simply because it does require each of us to invest a fair degree of introspection in it – and the very fact that we all have different perspectives means that the installation is going to resonate differently, depending upon just how much time and thought we  are prepared to give to the subjects RockSie prompts us to consider – and the changes we are willing to make in order to help bring about a more desirable  future.

For me, these thoughts all coalesced around ideas of a greater need for tolerance and understanding on the part of all of us as individuals;  we have become far, far too intolerant of any ideas or thoughts that are not in absolute lockstep with our own. Simply put, far too many of us have become entrenched in our various beliefs and leanings, that we’re unwilling to accept the views of others.

Whatever the cause – and it is hard not to blame social media platforms such as Twitter, it has been increasingly easy for any of us to retreat into (or create) hollow echo-chambers of so-called “like minds” which, whilst seemingly harmless, only serve to negatively amplify a sense of self-righteousness of outlook, to the point where anyone who expresses a point of view that is not 100% in accord with our own is somehow “against us” and thus to be ostracised and / or vilified for daring to offer an alternate viewpoint.

These are attitudes that require intentional act on our part to change,  as this installation attempts to point out through the encouragement of introspection. However, the fact that it does require introspections and an acknowledgement of a need to change, it is easy to brush the need aside because “one person cannot make a difference”, or because there are those who simply will not change. However, neither of these are valid arguments, because the fact is that, while it might feel that “its only me”, numbers do matter and can have an impact, as RoxkSie notes – couching her observation  in a frame of reference that appears to encompasses the subject of climate change:

Nature never changes in its diversity and beauty. From aesthetically ugly to perfect, it is always beautiful and constantly evolving. The things we choose to do, do influence how it evolves and changes. 

One person cannot do a lot, but if 100 or 1,000,000 people change just one habit, it can make a difference.

Some don’t want  change, but it is happening whether we like it or not. Because nature does not care what we think.

Challenging and potentially discomfiting for some, Inner Self Awareness is an interesting successor to The Path, presenting as it does considerable food for thought – far more in fact, than I’ve thought in here, as there is a veritable treatise to be found within it, and I’ve forcibly restrained my commentary here so ad not to blanket the experience other may have with my  own subjective thinking. When visiting, do be sure to have local sounds enabled (not the audio stream).

SLurl Details

• Inner Self Awareness (Roxkstudios, rated Moderate)