Category: Reviews

Cica’s Scribbled in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Cica Ghost: Scribbled, January 2023

My first memory of Cica Ghost’s art in Second Life came over a decade ago, when she secured a region grant from the former Linden Endowments for the Arts (LEA), and hosted Cica. It caught the eye and imagination of many, featuring two-dimensional stick figures, many of them animated, going about their lives within a 3D setting, with the little chap riding his bicycle in the face of a strong wind that becoming something of a motif for the build within blog posts about it.

Follow-up installations like Ghostville allowed various 2D characters draw by Cica to continue to appear in her 3D installations – and they still pop-up from time to time either directly (plants and flowers forming a part of an landscape) or indirectly (as drawing on walls) within Cica’s installations.

Cica Ghost: Scribbled, January 2023

Now, with her latest installation, Scribbled, which opened to the public on Thursday, January 12th, 2023, Cica again brings us a 2D world within a 3D space. Offered under the description Every day is a new day, this is an installation sitting on the 3D equivalent of a sheet of paper – and just as every day is a new day, so is every blank piece of paper an opportunity for the imagination to take flight, be it through drawings or through words.

Here, we are invited into the former (be sure to Use Shared Environment in your viewer (World → Environment), a crisp white setting suggestive of that sheet of paper on which Cica has “drawn” for us a series of vignettes. From 2D trees through aliens standing before their flying saucer to cows, elephants, cats and deer to monsters whose smiles reveal they are not intent on harm, this is a place where even the hills are given a deceptive two-dimensional edge.

Cica Ghost: Scribbled, January 2023

The order in which you encounter these little vignettes matters not – suffice it to say each has its own charm and some, due to the layout of the scene, may need a little additional exploration to be seen at their best. Also scattered among them are some 3D elements – houses and such – which, as the camera is moved, perform the illusion of appearing to morph into flat drawings before revealing their real depth once more – indeed, the overall positioning of all the elements in the setting present an immersive depth that reaches beyond the 2D form of the majority of the pieces.

This is also a setting with a little secret. Just as every day is a new day, is followed by a night, and should you find your way to it, Scribbled reminds visitors of this by transporting them from “day” to “night”. This is a place where the sky and ground are black, and the trees, animals and objects become white, giving visitors a sense of stepping into a photographic negative of the “outer” drawing. Cleverly, as well, the return trip from “night” to “day” delivers visitors to a different locale from that used to enter “night”, thus ensuring that a part of the setting that might have otherwise been easily missed or taken for granted, might be enjoyed.

Cica Ghost: Scribbled, January 2023

Of course, as with all of Cica’s installations there are opportunities for interaction awaiting discovery, from dances to sit spots to the chance to frame yourself in a “2D” picture frame located to one side of the setting, all of which further adds to the fun. And when wandering be sure to say hello to Cica; whilst she may not always be in Scribbled in person, she is always present in (2D) spirit!

As always, Scribbled is an engaging trip into the imagination with Cica, whose work never fails to raise a smile and the spirit, so when visiting do please consider also supporting her work through a purchase or a donation.

SLurl Details

  • Scribbled by Cica Ghost (Mysterious, rated Moderate)

A winter’s Aurelias in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Aurelias, January 2023 – click any image for full size

For those wanting to obtain a touch of small-town winter might want to visit Aurelias, a Full region private estate held by Gorgeous Aurelia, and primarily designed by Sparkle (Sparkely Sugar).

Covered in a blanket of snow at the time of my visit, and sitting under a blue sky suggestive of a crisp winter’s day, this is a place offering a sense of old-world Americana, centred on a small town square where town houses mix easily with small businesses. The square itself – at least at the time of my visit – was still dressed for the holiday season, with snowmen, present boxes and Santa’s sleigh watched over by his little helpers.

Welcome to Aurelias, a place for all seasons. As you stroll along our shoreline, watch the seasons change and be enchanted by the beautiful scenery. Our lovely town is glistening with holiday cheer and humming with activity.

Aurelias About Land description

Aurelias, January 2023

It is within the town square that visitors arrive – and will be offered a teleport HUD by which to travel around and which provides links to additional information, such as the Aurelias website. Whether you need the HUD or not is debatable; the region is easy to explore on foot, although the HUD does form a handy aide-mémoire as to whether or not all of the points of interest have been visited.

These latter include St. Aurelias Church, sitting on a hill above the town to the north-west; the Bumble Bee Café and gas station to the south-west the artists’ retreat of the Conservatory, the standing stones overlooking two corners of the coastline, and more.

Aurelias, January 2023

All of them are easily reached by following trails and footpaths through the snow, bridges large and small offering the means to cross the local stream. As a part of the seasonal feel, the region includes a skating rink – a destination not noted within the HUD’s list of teleport locations, whilst the farm that is listed within it appeared to be absent as I explored.

Whilst this is a winter setting, there are signs that things are started to thaw, that spring is not far down the road; three are turning green and the blanket of snow is here and there holed by grass, moss and flower poking their way through in a promise of warmer times to come.

Aurelias, January 2023

This promise of warmer days is liable to see the beach running along the west coast become a lot more popular than at the time of my visit. Cut by the mouth of the region’s stream, the beach runs from below a large (and public) mansion up to where the local church sits.

Following the beach past the church will cause visitors to climb a slope and around the north side of the region to one of those islands of green and colour bursts from the snow. Located at the end of one of the town’s roads, this presents a covered area of broken and uneven cobbles sitting above a waterfall, the townward side of which offers a horse rezzer for those who would prefer to explore on horseback.

Aurelias, January 2023

Continue along the northern coast to its eastern extent and you’ll find the Rainy Café, a place that switches from winter to a sense of being in a tropical location. The snow gives way to grass and gardens sheltered from any off-shore storms by a reefs overlooked by a tall lighthouse sitting just off the coast.

As the name suggests, the café sits within a gentle fall of rain, its interior offers a dry retreat, the terrace just outside protected by the wall-height windows that hinge around their upper ends, and the eaves of the roof above them – although the decks beyond the terrace might suffer from a soaking should the rain decide to move!

Aurelias, January 2023

A charming location with plenty of opportunities for photography, Aurelias makes for a charming, easy visit – and I look forward to returning later in the year as the seasons change.

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Guernica: a statement against war in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
London Junkers: Guernica – January 2023

The greater portion of humanity’s history can, unfortunately, be told in terms of conflict and war. Whether driven by territorial desires, religious zealotry, political expediency, or inherent ethnic / racial divides, wars large and small, tribal, national or international have pockmarked the stories of successive civilisations. With the 21st century just into its 23rd year, we have already witnessed some 27 significant conflicts and wars around the globe – roughly twice the number seen within the first two decades of the 20th century.

Little wonder then, that London Junkers has chosen as he latest installation – opening on Wednesday, January 11th, 2023 at 13:00 SLT – to bring back Guernica, his 3D reproduction of Pablo Picasso’s famous oil painting, regarded around the world by many through the years as the most moving and powerful anti-war painting in history.

For those unfamiliar with the painting, from mid-1936 through until late 1939, Spain was torn apart by a civil war between the then-Republican government (notably aided by Soviet Russia and by Mexico) and the Nationalists, lead by a group of generals who had failed to seize power in a coup d’état in mid-July 1936 and were aided by Fascist Germany and Italy.

London Junkers: Guernica – January 2023

As a part of that conflict, General Francisco Franco called upon the German Luftwaffe’s Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria to bomb the small – but to the Basques, historically and culturally significant – town of Guernica. Ostensibly, the raid was to deny retreating Republican army use of the town’s bridge to cross the Oka River. However, the use of incendiary bombs later the later raids carried out by the German Condor Legion and which set the town ablaze, does suggest the the bombing was intended to break the spirit of the Basque army.

The attack levelled almost all of the town, with it and the strafing of roads and streets by fighters was seen as a war crime. On hearing about the raid at his home in Paris, Pablo Picasso was horrified. Already been commissioned by the Republican government to produce a painting for the Spanish pavilion at the 1937 Paris International Exposition (and to raise funds for the Republican cause via exhibitions around the world), he decided to express his outrage at the murder of women and children – both of whom he saw as “the very perfection of mankind” – through a painting commemorating those lost.

London Junkers: Guernica – January 2023

In all, the painting – over 7.5 metres long and around 3.5 metres high – took Picasso 35 days to produce, and while it was the result of a commission by and for his nation’s Republican government, and he was himself an anti-fascist, and thus vehemently opposed to the likes of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini, he saw the painting as a means to express his overall abhorrence to the war and the effect the actions of both sides was having on his homeland.

The Spanish struggle is the fight of reaction against the people, against freedom. My whole life as an artist has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against reaction and the death of art. How could anybody think for a moment that I could be in agreement with reaction and death? … In the panel on which I am working, which I shall call Guernica, and in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain in an ocean of pain and death. 

– Pablo Picasso

Interpreting the painting tends to be subjective; while there is clear symbolism throughout, some of which is clear – such as the woman on the left mourning the loss of her babe-in-arms; the woman with arms upraised to the right, the lick of flames both above and below her, the fallen, dismembered soldier -, so to is there symbolism (or metaphor) which is harder to discern. The presence of the bull and horse, for example; both animals have enormous significance in Spanish culture, and would appear to have significance here – but Picasso himself warned against reading too much into their presence other than, perhaps, as symbols of his nation.

London Junkers: Guernica – January 2023

But that said, the overall horror and destruction, the pain, death and sorrow that surround war is all too clearly evident throughout the piece. As such, when visiting London’s installation, I strongly recommend viewing it from far enough back so you can see all of the piece in a single frame such that it might be viewed as the original. From here all the nuances of the piece can be seen, such as the way the horse’s nose, nostrils and teeth offer a stylised human skull, for example. By moving / camming close helps to bring individual pieces within London’s interpretation of Picasso’s work, allowing us to ponder their meaning.

This symbolism also extends to the landing point / event stage for the installation. Sharing the same black / white / greyscale tones as the painting, this area features two Junkers dive bombers (not actually used in the Guernica raid, but utterly symbolic of the terror of warfare), swooping down on the stage. Between them, a dove – the symbol of peace – sits trapped within a sphere, a symbolism which speaks for itself. Above this sits the trunk of a tree, representative of both the line of Gernikako Arbola, or [oak] Tree of Guernica – a central facet of the Biscayan people (and by extension, Basques as a whole); and the third tree in the series (1858-2004), which  miraculously survived the bombing of the town. Finally, two board on the stage provide, respectively, an introduction to the installation and London’s own indictment of war, in the form of a poem, might be read.

London Junkers: Guernica – January 2023

When writing about the original presentation of this installation in 2012, I noted it might be said that the bombing of Guernica washed away the last vestiges of the romanticism so often afforded war through word, verse and idealism. Sadly, it did not bring an end to war itself, as witnessed by the events that followed on the heels of the Spanish Civil War, and all the conflicts since, per the opening comments of this piece.

In this, and given all that is occurring within Ukraine in particular (and before it, Georgia), the return of Guernica to Second Life at this time helps reminds us that so long as we are driven by the need for power, for dominance (and dominion) over others and in elevating politics and / or religion above our fellow humans, the innocent will continue to suffer under the yoke of war.

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Grauland’s Space Odyssey in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Grauland, January 2023 – click any image for full size

JimGarand is back with a new iteration of Grauland, and it is one that was bound to grab my attention sooner or later given it presents a sci-fi / Mars vibe in which a realm of potential touches might be found if the eye and the imagination are willing to have a little fun.

A visit commences on the ground level, a setting presenting what appears to be the surface of a Mars-like planet. It’s a place where a small human base has been established within – given the surrounding hills and central peak – what appears to be a complex crater somewhere on the planet. Whether it is Mars or somewhere else in up to you to decide (although I’m opting for the former, even if the clouds aren’t very Mars-like in their hue; but then with my interests, I would, wouldn’t I?!).

Grauland, January 2023

Whether you want to place it, this is a lonely, dry place, devoid of vegetation, the sky a colour suggestive that it is heavy in fine dust. The squat, utilitarian modules of the base sit on one side of the crater’s peak, what looks like a landing platform to one side one them – although this hasn’t prevented someone landing a small shuttle a little further from the entrance to the hab modules.

Across the crater floor from this, and hidden from view but the carter’s peak, two surface excursion vehicles appear to have found something interesting to examine (although admittedly, going by the barbecue and a couple Adirondack chairs set out alongside one of them, they might have just stopped off for a little home-cooked lunch!).

Grauland, January 2023

It’s is simple setting, offering a sense of magnificent desolation (if I might so quote, even if this is clearly not our Moon!), and ideal for sci-fi photography. However, the planetary surface is not the only point of interest in this setting. Sitting on the landing platform at the base camp is a teleport disk; it offers a choice of two destinations served by five options: a platform that is home to Jim’s M1 Poses store and an art gallery (each with its own teleport disk), and three options to deliver people to a space station.

The latter is a large, multi-level complex that clearly has its own gravity generators; it’s also a place where the imagination might have a little fun. The transporter platform sits over what might be the main control centre, a place with a strange mix of tech: in the centre are plasma-like information screens with touch keyboards; however, against the outer hull bulkheads are chunky stations with a distinct industrial edge to them, covered in solid coloured buttons you feel will give a very satisfying click when pressed – and might even stay depressed until again pressed, just so you know they are active.

Grauland, January 2023

Looking at these outer consoles, it’s not hard to imagine Lorne Green’s Commander Adama standing within this space. One the walls over them are image displays, one of which appears to be a one of the conceptual vehicles produced as a means of illustrating the (equally conceptual and speculative) Alcubierre Drive.

Beyond this, visitors find themselves in a medical bay where – if not Leonard McCoy in residence – one might not be surprised to find Dr. Phlox asking, “Now, What seems to be the problem?” Elsewhere, and after travelling by the internal elevators, it is possible to pass through a couple of biodomes which, whilst their growth might not be as luxuriant or their placement as exotic, might nevertheless result in mental images of Bruce Dern’s Freeman Lowell trying to teach Huey, Dewey and Louie the basics of how to care for the plants and animals within the domes of the Valley Forge.

Grauland, January 2023

Laid out along obviously vertical and horizontal lines (ah, the limitations of SL’s physics!) and in place looking like parts of it warehouse or hotel’s leisure facilities had been beamed wholesale into space, the station offers a lot to explore and some artistic oddities (take the, umm, bathroom, for example!). Some of these might bright to mind thoughts of other film franchises and their doom-laden theme by Jerry Goldsmith due to their dark corners and narrow confines, or the disappointment that the green lights of the machinery aren’t “moving back and forth without any purpose” (yes, I’m still playing spot-the-reference…).

And while this might sound like I’m taking the Michael out of the station, I’m not; it is an interesting place to explore whether or not you have a hidden sci-fi nerd lurking inside your head.

Grauland, January 2023

More to the point – at least for some – are the opportunities the station presents for playing with EEP settings to offer different outlooks and views. This is something I ended up doing – as seen in some of the images above, notably in the case of Saturn (and an intentional nod to the Silent Running vibe of the station’s biodomes) – courtesy of Stevie Davros’ EEP packs available via his Marketplace store (and which I reviewed back in December 2020).

Once the ground level and station have been visited, there remains the opportunity to visit the gallery / store level. Both can be reached via either the Gallery or Store options displayed by the ground level teleport disk or the three “transporter beams” active on the level above the space station’s control room. At the time of my visit, the gallery was featuring the avatar photography of Wiona (dx61005).

Grauland, January 2023

All told, another fascinating and engaging build from Jim.

SLurl Details

Caly’s Crowns in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
NovaOwl Gallery: Caly Applewhyte – Crowns

Headgear has long played is significant role within societies around the world, particularly in terms of denoting spirituality or royalty. This is potentially for two reasons. The first is that, as the highest point on the human body, the head is the best point from which to indicate authority, and so elaborate or distinctive headgear the best means to signal said authority. The second is that, being the part of the body with the proximity to the heavens, and thus potentially the first point of contact with the divine or spirits descending from on high, the top of the head is considered, and thus should be covered as a sign of modesty and deference.

More widely, hats, headwear, traditional headdress, and so on, having long been a means of expression throughout societies and communities the world over. They can indicate everything from broader religious adherence to social status / profession, societal adherence (it is not that long ago that in many western societies it was considered uncouth for anyone of educated means – male or female – to appear in public without a hat, and one only has to travel back a little further to reach a time when women were expect to wear a hat, indoors and out), or basic social status. In this, just think of the worker’s flat cap, the British bowler, the Stetson, the fedora, the fez, and allow they evoke.

Some of these ideas are explored within the January / February 2023 art exhibition occupying at the ground level gallery at NovaOwl Gallery, curated and operated by ULi Jansma, Ceakay Ballyhoo & Owl Dragonash, featuring as it does the work of Caly Applewhyte.

NovaOwl Gallery: Caly Applewhyte – Crowns

Self-taught with Photoshop, Caly entered Second Life in 2010 with – as she describes it herself – “no specific goal”, but while exploring the grid, she found an outlet in Second Life photography. As her interest grew, so did a parallel interest in both her own avatar and the ability to use this virtual domain as a means to explore emotions, feelings and ideas, generally through the use of minimalist settings intended to bring the intended focus, the essential theme and emotion, of each piece to the fore.

Within Crowns, Caly offers a series of beautifully minimalist set of pictures exploring the expressive nature of headdress, particularly in terms of spirituality (although there is also a hint of royalty about them as well).  Each is highly individual in both form and the style of headdress, one to the next, yet all carry within them core recognition of the implied authority, faith and prowess of the wearer. Not, note that the wearer is necessarily gifted with these abilities – just that their headdress encourages us to view them as such.

In keeping with much of Caly’s work, Crowns does not require a lot to be written about it – each piece clearly and evocatively speaks for itself, with all of them collectively offering a narrative which is easy to follow. As such, I recommend Crowns should be viewed rather than written about – and I’ll leave you with the SLurl once more to allow you to do so.

NovaOwl Gallery: Caly Applewhyte – Crowns

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Elvion: mystical beauty in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Elvion, January 2023 – click any image for full size

Even before it was selected for highlight in the Destination Guide Editor’s picks, I’d heard that Bo Zano (BoZanoNL) had opened a new iteration of Elvion, and I’d added it to my list of regions to visit ASAP in 2023. I’ve always admired Bo’s work, and over the last several years he has brought us a range of visions for Elvion, and all of them have been utterly captivating and photogenic – and this latest version, once again a Homestead build – is no exception.

An island setting, Elvion emerges from the surrounding waters as a pair of low isles, the larger of the two running east from the landing point, initially as a narrow finger, then broadening out to the north and south, a shallow channel of water separating it from the smaller isle.

Elvion, January 2023

Reached via a simple bridge, the latter sits a the home of an ivy-draped cottage, a place that looks at first to be a little homestead, courtesy of the geese (both on the ground and circling overhead) and horses sharing the island with it. However, caught within the same EEP settings as the rest of the region – and which I recommend viewing it under -, this smaller island carries that same sense of mystery and age as its larger neighbour.

A path points eastwards from the landing point, and presents the best means by which to become immersed in that sense of mysticism and mystery. Along the way it passes under great broken columns which have tumbled to form gigantic arches pointing the way towards the ruins of an abbey-like building. Between the first and second of the giant “arches”, the bases of which are marked by exotic puffball plants also of large proportions, is a huge mushroom tree standing at the water’s edge.

Elvion, January 2023

Overlooked by a bench, this otherworldly tree marks the start of a way across the shallows – also marked by plants and reeds rising from the water – to where a stone tower rises from the thumb-tip of rock, standing like a guardian – or watcher – over the setting. From this lofty perch (reached by touching the door to teleport up to the single room), visitors can gain an eagle’s view of the main islands and their watery surrounds.

Lit by trees rich in autumnal colours and strung with lights, the abbey-like ruins offer a sense of timelessness; a place where peace holds sway and dreams come easy. Beyond it, a path leads onwards to a shrine caught within the branches of another tree whilst a second leads to the bridge and the second island beyond.

Elvion, January 2023

Within the broader part of the main island lay more ruins, suggestive of an outlying element of the abbey – perhaps what was once a small church. These sit at the edge of a stream issuing from rocks which oddly intrude into the ruins, as if the rocks arrive after the building had been built and collapsed.

The steam itself only flows a short distance before it enters the surrounding waters. In doing so, it indirectly points the way to where a swings sits off-shore under the branches of another tree. Close by sits a wooden pier marching across the water, yet itself separated from land by that same water. It offers a further retreat and place for reflection in solitude.

Elvion, January 2023

Through the setting there is a uniqueness that sets it apart from previous builds – notably, again, the EEP settings, which offer so much to the immersiveness that other Elvion builds perhaps haven’t quiet reached, as captivating as they have been. At the same time, there is enough within the region that offer links to past iterations – such as the shrine noted above, the two-wheeled cart on the edge of the smaller island and the presence of wildlife and animals throughout the setting.

Some of these – in the form of white stags – both offer a hark-back to past builds and add to the mystic / fantasy feel of this iteration. In this, they are joined by glowing chrysalis butterflies flying offshore and the magical rings of fish circling a Moon chair sitting part-way to the stone tower, the puffballs and mushroom trees and other exotic flora awaiting discovery. When combined, these move Elvion into a realm of the imagination, brought to life by the presence of the animals and wildlife.

Elvion, January 2023

Wandering Elvion is, for me, like coming home; there is a comforting sense of familiarity within each iteration of this region I find engaging. And I don’t mean a familiarity borne of similarities of design or the inclusion of familiar elements from one version to the next; rather there is a sense that Bo has an imagination and a flair for region designs I know are always going to be attractive to me; places I can appreciate and spend time within, wrapped in a since of freedom and exploratory delight.

Definitely not a location to be missed.

Elvion, January 2023

SLurl Details

  • Elvion (Forevermore, rated Moderate)