Under the Northern Lights, December 2022 – click any image for size size
Under the Northern Lights is the title Carrie Lemon Rogstad (LemonPuss) has given to her winter-themed Homestead region, currently open to visitors this December 2022.
As the name suggests, this is a snowy setting, largely open to the public to explore, although it has twelve small rentals around its edge. Available at L$700 a week, these present is simple geodesic dome (the GeoDome by Ria Bazar, a unit I’ve used myself in laying out region designs), with basic furnishings of bed, fireplace and décor elements, all of which is set out on a deck with each of the units.
Under the Northern Lights, December 2022
The landing point sits towards the middle of this snowy, icy setting, caught within the arms of the surrounding mountains. This mid-point sits over frozen water as they cut into the region. A rutted track, dusted in the snow – which is more-or-less constantly falling – offers a short walk to a miniature golf area, with many of the holes themselves dressed for the season.
Come explore a Northern Winter Wonderland underneath the Northern Lights! Dome rental, Madpea mini-golf, Santa … ice skating, sleds [and] hangout.
– Under the Northern Lights About Land
Under the Northern Lights, December 2022
Follow the track in the other direction and it runs past and around the local skating rink to loop back to the landing point, passing by way of a mobile café offering plenty of hot drinks for those who need warming up. Beyond this, multiple bridges and a couple of paths provide access to the outer parts of the region and the little rentals. At the time of my visit, several of the latter were rented and so obviously off-limits to casual explorers, but three were still available for those looking for something a little different to rent for the holidays.
Two of the bridges lead to a further public area, a setting fully of seasonal cheer, from Santa awaiting visitors to a roaring fire in a hearth and cost seating to be enjoyed; and – for those in need of them, some essential winter supplies and the opportunity to purchase a Christmas tree. Walk down the snowy slopes on the north side of this little winter market setting and you’ll come to another café. Brick built and with an inviting interior, it is far more permanent than the one up by the skating rink.
Under the Northern Lights, December 2022
With polar bears playing on the ice, and deer and horses scattered around, the setting keeps to the “Northern” in its name by only allowing penguins carved from snow to inhabit it.
Easy on the eye and presenting a gentle chance of exploration and multiple opportunities for photography, Under the Northern Lights makes for an easy-going visit.
The idea behind this collaboration was to recreate the magic of nature that resonates with one spiritually and touches one either in the form of falling snow, gentle rain, or floating leaves. We hope you enjoy the creations as much as we did creating them.
– Introduction for Mountains, Mandalas and Magic, Third Eye gallery
Currently open at the Third Eye Gallery, curated by Jaz (Jessamine2108), is a collaborative exhibition by Viktor Savior, Orpheus Paxlapis and Jaz herself, which, as the description above notes, is intended to offer a spiritual reconnection with nature.
Mountains, Mandalas and Magic sees Vikor produce a series of paintings, the majority of them featuring mountain views (with one perhaps leaning more towards autumn leaves adrift on water, complete with what might be shadowy white Koi below the ripples), Orpheus a series of mandalas, some of which are animated, some of which are static and set within Viktor’s images, and Jaz the particle effects which accompany the paintings in reflection of them: falling leaves, the teardrops of rain, misty clouds and drifting snow…
Third Eye Gallery: Mountains, Mandalas and Magic
In addition, in front of the paintings are static poses – two per image – allowing visitors to take their own photograph before any of the paintings as a keepsake of the exhibition.
The combination of mandalas with mountains is appropriate; while mandalas are common to the Eastern religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto and Janism, they are perhaps most noted in the west through the growing popularity of Tibetan Buddhism (even though they started in India in around the 8th century), and Tibet offer some of the most stunning mountainous landscaped in the world.
Set around the water garden of Third Eye gallery, this is an engaging, easy to view exhibition with a spiritual content suitable for the time of year, if not entirely in keeping with the general theme of the yuletide time.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022 – click any image for full size
Nailah Carlucci-Remain (Nailah Carlucci) recently invited me to visit her latest design, The Arctic Sanctuary. which she co-hold with Satria Pexington. Occupying a Homestead region, it is – as the name suggests – an Arctic setting, albeit it one with seasonal touches throughout and with the typical quirk of such settings in Second Life.
Walk through an arctic expanse, among the polar bears and penguins. Then climb onto the enchanted Hogwartz express. From there, stop for some tea and a look at the art and charming rooms at the classical chateau. Then warm yourself at the Christmas village for hot chocolate, ginger snaps, games and lots of skating. Take the balloon ride for a tour of the region.
– Nailah Carlucci-Remain (Nailah Carlucci)
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
The balloon tour is actually one of the first elements in the region arriving visitors may encounter, sitting as it does alongside the landing point in the north-west of the setting. The landing point is perhaps a little unsteady, being an ice floe tipping and pitching in the waves. From here the path runs by way of ice passing around the base of an iceberg to where the flank of a larger iceberg blocks the way forward, necessitating a climb up the ice face.
A set of climbing poses rise at the ice cliff, but these appear to be poses only, not animations; to get to the top of the ice is a manual climb. From here it is possible to climb up to a small bivouac or continue onwards over the ice to the rest of the region, starting with a headland where penguins play and polar bears hunt for fish along the edge of the water. Hot pools, there sides formed by calcified sulphur, sit across the spit of land from where the polar bears are seeking a meal, suggesting this is a volcanic location.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
As the land opens out a little, visitors arrive at the express train mentioned in the description above – although a ride aboard it is liable to be problematic given the engine sits derailed with a snowdrift (not that it had anywhere to go; the rails end at the drift and rocks, presenting the train more for photographic purposes than a means of transit).
Within the carriages are the elements of the Harry Potter series also referenced in the description. These can be enjoyed by those boarding the train, the restaurant car offering tea and cakes via magically floating service tables. The best way to board the carriages is via the rails that bend away from the main track to the trestle bridge on which the carriages sit, and then entering the first carriage via the forward door.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
The chateau and village lie beyond the tunnel from which the train is emerging, the tunnel or the snow and ice at the foot of hill it cuts its way through apparently the only ways by which to reach either the village or the chateau on foot. The trip through the tunnel reveals another of the region’s little quirks (the first being the presence of penguins in an Arctic setting; a not unusual factor in winter / polar settings in SL despite the incongruity, as noted at the start of this article): whilst the tunnel has at one end a railway line exiting it, at the other it has a paved footpath passing over a stone bridge, a broad drive pointing north to the chateau, steps to the east descending down to the little village.
The chateau is pleasing furnished as a period setting offering plenty of opportunity for photography; the village offers a range of attractions, including ice skating, a catch-a-Santa game, cosy indoor sitting and outdoor paces to enjoy roasted chestnuts or hot chocolate. Interactive elements exist throughout the region, both above and below the waves.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
When aboard the train for example, it is possible to obtain drinks from the elf and also touch the books for a few surprises; and should you be tempted by the treasure at the bottom of the waters under the rail bridge, you might find yourself becoming a snack for Bruce the Shark (film buffs may get the reference here). And even if you get past him, another surprise awaits at the treasure itself – you have been warned! In the meantime, for those who prefer their critters a little more sedate, there are a number of ice sculptures scattered around the setting.
An easy visit, The Arctic Sanctuary offers multiple opportunities for photography and interactive elements that help to make a visit fun and just a little bit different from the usual seasonal fare this time of year. All of which makes time spent within the region worthwhile.
These days, the Twelve Days of Christmas aren’t kept as carefully as they once were, however, in the Middle Ages, it was commonplace for workers to put down tools and relax and celebrate Christ’s birth with masses and revels that stretched over almost two weeks. But why was the period so long when Christ’s birth happened in one day?
– Chuck Clip, Ghosts of Traditions Past, UASL, December 2022
This is the question Chuck Clip asks of his audience as the visit his new installation Ghosts of Traditions Past, which officially opens on Sunday, December 18th, 2022. In asking it, he sets the stage for an exploration of “Christmas traditions” in both images and words which explores how Christianity essentially usurped pre-Christian festivals associated with the end-of-year – notably that of the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
This usurping of already-popular / observed festivals from pre-Christian eras was pretty much de rigueur for the early Church, both to stamp its authority on things, and to bring people into the fold, so to speak. However, With its week-long festivities, Saturnalia was an obvious target for the Holy Roman Church for “conversion” to a “Christian” celebration, and in about the 4th century AD, it settled on December 25th as the date of Christs birth (although in reality, He had most likely been born in the spring or autumn) – the date which, under the Julian calendar used the the Romans, the winter solstice fell.
In fairness to the nascent Christian church, the Romans had themselves sequestered the period in which Saturnalia was celebrated from earlier belief systems, notably those of the Celts in Western Europe and (particularly) the British Isles, who had in turn absorbed traditional going by even further into history – of which more anon.
UASL: Chuck Clip – Ghosts of Traditions Past
It is from Saturnalia (itself, as noted, “borrowing” for other pagan festivals of earlier peoples) that many of what we regard as “Christmas traditions” come: the giving of gifts (such as candles, intended to signify the growing return of the Sun after the solstice and small terracotta figurines known as signillaria); the placing of coins in food for dinner guests to find; the use of wreaths; and so on. And, of course, the celebration of a “king” (Saturnalicius princeps), which generally occurred within Roman households – albeit one far from being a redeemer born as a babe, one far more mischievous and disruptive (and so also referred to as the “lord of mis-rule”), seen as a means by which Romans could thrown off the invisible bonds of orderly society and simply revel in a (brief) period of disorder, pranks and generally having fun at the expense of others.
Within Ghosts of TraditionsPast, Chuck takes his audience on a 12-chapter tour of Christmas, a walk through a snowbound landscape to view 12 individual images representative of the traditions we now associate with Christmas and their likely origins, each told through local chat as one approaches each of the images.
Starting with Saturnalia (which itself started as a single day of festivities before expanding to around 7-8 days commencing some 14 days before the end of the 29-day Julian month of December (all of which helped to formulate the notion of the “12 days of Christmas”), these chapters take us through many of the pagan rites and observances which have been either absorbed into the Christian observance of the birth of Christ either directly or through their prior acquisition by Saturnalia.
UASL: Chuck Clip – Ghosts of Traditions Past
Thus, following them in what amounts to a clockwise direction from the entry point (a tunnel leading into the landscape at its 6 o’clock position), the images run in an arc from the left, each one offering the story of a given Christmas tradition – the symbolism of the Christmas wreath, the pagan meaning of holly berries, the meaning of the yule log – even the significance of mistletoe in both pagan and Roman times.
The first 10 of the pieces are located to the snowy plain, backed by ghostly trees, with the final two on the rocky slope leading up to a Christmas tree sitting within Stonehenge, where visitors can obtain a special gift for the season from Chuck. And if you think that Stonehenge is somewhat out-of-place within this Christmas setting, being today more associated with summer solstice celebrations, you’d not be entirely correct.
Recent research (2017-2021) by a consortium led by the University of Bradford and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, and involving the universities of Birmingham, St Andrews, Warwick, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, has revealed that Stonehenge sits within one of the largest prehistoric sites in the UK, a ring of 10m wide, 5m deep “shafts” encircling it, the Durrington Walls and Woodhenge. Dating back over 2,500, this ring of shafts 2km across, lends considerable weight to the idea that in Neolithic times, Stonehenge was the centre of extended winter solstice celebrations.
UASL: Chuck Clip – Ghosts of Traditions Past
In much the same way, I’d hazard a guess that the use of ghostly trees surrounding the installation sit as a reflection of the tree and The Green Man as a symbol of rebirth and renewal – themes also closely associated with Christ, but which hold their origins to multiple pre-Christian religions. The Green Man (is that him or the face of God looking down on the setting from above?) also sits as a reminder that, even in the midst of its attempts to stamp its authority on the “old ways”, Christianity fell subject to pagan motifs; many are the churches and cathedrals to be found with the face of the Gren Man carved over their entrances or within their halls.
In viewing Ghosts of Tradition Past, I’m reminded of an observation by W. Somerset Maugham: Tradition is a guide and not a jailer. With this exhibition, Chuck cleverly uses the strictures of Christian seasonal tradition to guide visitors to an understanding of the festivals, beliefs and symbols which are both enfolded within that tradition and yet pre-dates it.
Angel Mist is a Full private region that is genuinely multi-faceted in its offerings to visitors; so much so that when I initially dropped in back earlier in 2022, I ended up stuck on how best to tackle it without ending up with just a list of SLurls and individual descriptions. Even now, I’m not sure I’ve really escaped doing that, but given the diverse range of settings it offers and its potential for broad-based appeal, it deserves a write-up.
When I say multi-faceted, I really mean it; designed by Madam Chaos (TheAwkwardMochi) and Maxi (Maxwell Raynier) this is a region that cannot be simply pigeon-holed as club venue or a photographing region, or a role-play setting or purely as a hang-out; it is a mix of all of these elements and more – and as such, can be slightly bewildering given the number of potential access points (on my original visit, I came to the region via a Destination Guide entry that delivered me to the ground level, for example, and initially oblivious to the skyborne locations). This being the case, I recommend fist-time visitor avail themselves of the main landing hub.
Angel Mist, December 2022
It is here that visitors can gain an introduction to the region as a whole, and obtain a Tour Guide HUD, offered as a 24-page book (and which includes map-based teleports). The book can also be found at many of the locations scatter across and over the region, as can teleport boards and portals in the forms of photographs of various locations within the region (walk through a picture to be teleported).
Which you take is entirely up to you – in this, the Guide Book can help with the major locations with the region as it offers a description of each of them. However, there are a couple of words of advice I would give as you start out on your explorations:
This is an adult-themed region, and clearly noted as BDSM friendly; therefore there are some destinations within the region that include furnishings and other items associated with the lifestyle & sexual activities. Most of these items are in the more private areas within the region (e.g. the Boudoir, the Hidden Bedroom), but some can be found elsewhere and might be in use when you come across it. If such activities aren’t to your sensibilities or should the equipment / rooms are in use, the teleport will take you elsewhere in the region, such as the Cloud Garden.
Parcel and altitude EEP settings are used throughout the region, so make sure you have your viewer set to Used Shared Environment (World → Environment).
Angel Mist – Norrland, December 2022
The greater portion of the ground level is given over the The Cloud Garden, a fantasy / romance setting washed through with bright light. the light can be a little overwhelming when first encountered, but it gives the setting a dream-like quality, with all that is contained within the garden being revealed only as people explore. This is a place where clouds float with dance floors and houses sitting on their backs and when elven tree houses spiral upwards into the light and steps and stairs and paved footpaths present some of the ways by which the garden might be revealed.
The Cloud Garden sits nestled between rugged uplands reached via trail and stair. With towers rising from two shoulders, waterfalls tumble from their mid-point and paths winding across them, in places they hide a range of tunnels and caverns below, all with their own attractions, which I’ll let you discover. The coast and lowlands are a little rougher in terms of landscaping, with grassy and sandy landforms mixing a little chaotically, but there are further points of interest to be found here as well, with boardwalks and paths helping with explorations.
Angel Mist, December 2022
Overhead, the largest single area is Norrland, the name given to the Swedish-style village which shares a high sky platform shared with one of the regions clubs. The village is caught in the depths of midwinter, the aurora painting the night sky with swirls of colour and light. Here visitors can wander at leisure, sit and watch the snow fall or take a horse from one of the rezzers and ride around the snowlands and / or try their hand at the local jump course.
Overlooking the village to one side is the Graveyard Shift Goth Club, occupying the ruins of an old stone-built church. As noted, it is one of a couple of club venues within the region, the other being Max’s Jazz and Blues Club, located within its own sky box and offering three music venues inside as well as a link to The London Room, “for those who need a little romantic privacy”. Meanwhile, for those who prefer warmer settings, a further skybox offers the Harem, a more middle-eastern locale.
Angel Mist – The Graveyard Shift Goth Club, December 2022
All of this is still barely scratching the surface of what is an intriguing region in many ways; one where these parts might be seen as individual destinations for those with specific interests. Those who enjoy romance and dancing are bound to find a lot to enjoy here (dances are offered through the region’s different locations, whilst those looking for intimate BDSM locales for a little fun are also well served, as are photographers through the like of the Cloud Garden and the Earthquake Room.
Thus, Angle Mist makes for an engaging visit and very different visit.
Kondor Art Centre: Hermes Kondor – Christmas in Ukraine
December brings with it two evocative and personal exhibitions on the subjects of Christmas, the human condition and the world at large. They are presented by artists I greatly admire for their ability to give us pause for thought through their narrative whilst also offering us the opportunity to appreciate them for their pure artistic quality. Given this, and the fact that these exhibitions are being shown in the halls of the main gallery space at the Kondor Art Centre, I’ve opted to write about them in a joint article.
Within Christmas in Ukraine, Hermes Kondor once more offers a series of photo-like images generated via the Midjourney AI programme and the post-processed to provide a collection of digital prints that are rich in emotional content. The best way to describe it is through Hermes’ own words:
Christmas in Ukraine is a personal project created to pay a deep heartfelt tribute to the people of Ukraine who do not have the same right, as we do, to celebrate Christmas.
– Hermes Kondor
Kondor Art Centre: Hermes Kondor – Christmas in UkrainePresented as a collection of 15 pieces in the manner of a photo-journalistic study, there are pieces not celebrating the resistance of the Ukrainian people against their invaders, but offered rather as stories of reunion, love and rejoining, as the men and women, wives and husbands, fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters, lovers and friends, may experience reunions of hope and peace across the their homeland, so rudely torn asunder throughout most of 2022.
Digital productions these may be, there is no denying the humanity they contain. They also stand as a reminder that, no matter what your political stripe, the use of organised military force through acts of war in suppression of others is not something to be celebrated but – in a so-called civilised age – preferably avoided. For while it may well by measured in terms of political (or religious) “success”, it is inevitably a story of human suffering.
Kondor Art Centre: Hermes Kondor – Christmas in Ukraine
Across the square, Scyllia Rhiadra presents God with Us: Essays on Christmas within the lower-floor setting of the 2-storey Main Gallery hall 1.
Utilising avatar-centric photographs posed and captured within Second Life, this is a richly layered collection that juxtaposes her images with quotes primarily from the Gospels concerning the birth of Christ (although some are taken more broadly from the Bible and other religious writers), to produce pieces that both reflect the Biblical presentation of Christ’s birth and offer modern commentary.
Kondor Art Centre: Scyllia Rhiadra – God with Us: Essays on Christmas
Within this structure, Scyllia also seeks to express a measure of her own attitude towards Christmas, encompassing childhood memories – presents under the tree, etc., – with her outlook on matters of faith and the Christmas message and the messages of hope, sacrifice and love it contains. These are aspects that Scyllia beautifully outlines within the artist’s notes available from the board just inside the gallery entrance. As such, and at the risk of putting words into Scyllia’s mouth, I’ll focus here on the broader message these images convey to me.
To me this broader message appears to be a commentary on the realities of the so-called “Christian spirit” as all too often espoused by the organised churches and branches of the Christian faith today and which – I would gamble – Christ himself would oppose were He here. This commentary appears throughout many of the pieces within this exhibition; perhaps most visibly The Innocents; however, I’ll focus my thinking on the neighbouring piece, No Room.
Kondor Art Centre: Scyllia Rhiadra – God with Us: Essays on Christmas
On the one hand, this is a modern-day representation of the plight faced by Joseph and his heavily pregnant wife: forced to make a long, uncomfortable trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfil political requirements, only to find themselves denied reasonable comfort and rest on their arrival. On the other, with its modern backdrop, it is a reminder that, in an age of mass human displacement, when Charity – the so-called greatest of the three Christian graces (the other being faith and hope – see 1 Corinthians 13:13) – is greatly needed the world over, it is all too often the loudest voices raised in opposition to the idea of any form of charity, large or small, being given, are those all too equally loudly raised in proclamations of their “Christian values”.
This layering of context and meaning can be found throughout God with Us: Essays on Christmas, encompassing elements such as the commercialisation of Christmas and the sheer selfishness that Christmas tends to bring out, and more. All of which marks this as an exhibition fully deserving of considered viewing.
Kondor Art Centre: Scyllia Rhiadra – God with Us: Essays on Christmas
Two superb exhibitions by two gifted artists, both Christmas in Ukraine, and God with Us: Essays on Christmas are appropriate and engaging exhibitions for the time of year, and I have no hesitation in recommending both.
