Bella’s Nocturne, June 2022 – click any image for full size
BellaSwan Blackheart is the creative mind behind Bella’s Lullaby, a place I’ve frequently visited and written about down the years; so when Tara (TaraLiaMe) forwarded to me the Landmark of another of Bella’s creations in May, I knew I had to take a look – although admittedly, it’s taken me a while to get to see it and to write about it.
Occupying a 4096 sq m parcel on a Full region, Bella’s Nocturne is a sky build, offering a setting which presents a corner of what might be a little town somewhere in Europe (going on the general aesthetic of the buildings, at least). The Landing Point sits within an enclosed square, what is clearly a communal space in which can be found a fountain, places to sit and enjoy ice cream and appreciate music.
Bella’s Nocturne, June 2022
It is the piano within this square that perhaps offers the best clue to a definition for the setting.
nocturne nŏk′tûrn″
An instrumental composition of a pensive, dreamy mood, especially one for the piano.
For this is indeed a dreamy setting; a place caught under the cloud-reflected light of a lowering Sun (thus removing it somewhat from the other definitions for nocturne), giving it a n air of calm.
Bella’s Nocturne, June 2022
A narrow alley points away from the square to lead to a broader road sitting at right angles to the alley, but equally caught between tall shops and houses. Walking from alley to street, it is not hard to imagine the melodies of the piano flowing gracefully off the walls of the buildings and over the lengthening shadows, spreading a sense of peace along alley and street, giving cause for cats to snooze on benches and birds to join in with the music as they sing to the closing of the day.
That the buildings are façades makes no difference here; it is the little details along the the street, down the alley and around the square that are important; they offer a sense of place and – more importantly – plenty of opportunities for the photographer. To assist in the latter, the parcel has open rezzing for visitor to allow for props; but (and as I generally remind people) please be sure to pick up you items when you are done!
Bella’s Nocturne, June 2022
At the far end of the street stands a DJ’s twin deck, suggesting a street party might be in the offing, while tucked into a corner of the square sits a little gate, the sign fixed to it giving away the secret that lies beyond: a quiet retreat of a wild garden, a place where bees are encouraged amongst the richness of flowers, and a shaded couch awaits those seeking retreat.
Small without feeling crowded; rich in detail without feeling overloaded and designed to be enjoyed with draw distance dropped down, Bella Nocturne is a cosy, comfortable visit.
Monocle Man: Bethany H and Foxy McAllister -A Splash of Friendship
Open through until the end of June 2022 at the Monocle Man sky gallery curated by Lynx Luga and Kit Boyd, is A Splash of Friendship, an artistic celebration of the Second Life friendship shared by Bethany H (bethanyharris21) and Foxy McAllister (FoxiBrown30).
Spread across the two floors of the gallery space is a collection of images by both Bethany and Foxy, both of whom have been involved in SL photography for the last four years (ish). It is a bright, careful selection of pieces interspersed with texts offering thoughts on the nature of having a genuine friend and on friendship itself.
A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have.
Monocle Man: Bethany H and Foxy McAllister -A Splash of Friendship
Set against backdrops that feature recognisable settings around the grid, as well as more personal spaces, these are images that tell stories of companionship that exude joy in the company of another, and the intimacy of simply being able to be one’s true self without concern of being judged or disapproved.
Within them are also framed images that we might take in unexpected moments in the physical world – catching a friend on camera when that are unaware, capturing a memory for them of contemplation or joy or playfulness; something that can be shared and used to bring times past back to the mind’s eye with freshness and a smile.
Monocle Man: Bethany H and Foxy McAllister -A Splash of Friendship
Posed they may well be; post-processed they clearly are – but neither of these aspects diminishes the framed stories each of these pictures tell.
Personal in their depth, yet open for all to appreciate, rich and style, tone and presentation, the pictures spread across the four rooms of the gallery allow us to share in the times Foxy and Bethany have shared, and understand precisely what they mean in the words:
One million memories, one thousand inside jokes, one hundred shared secrets, one reason, Best Friends.
Monocle Man: Bethany H and Foxy McAllister -A Splash of Friendship
A genuinely happy, relaxing and enjoyable exhibition.
Summertime is the time in which, when we are young, we gather precious memories of long holidays free from the supposed tyranny of school; times when we can run outside and play, build and create places of wonder through our imaginations, aided perhaps by toys such as building blocks or similar – or even the simple expanse of a piece of paper and a box full of tempting crayons.
The latter are particularly powerful as tools of the imagination, allowing young minds and hands create the most fantastical, colourful worlds, filled with the most bizarre or wondrous creatures and animals from upright elephants to giant ball-like and very happy spiders to aliens apparently visiting from another world. The worlds we create using them can become a source of pride and a set of memories that, as we grow ever older and put such things behind us, summertime offers us again raising a smile and a sense of joy as they are recalled.
Cica Ghost: Coloured Images, June 2022
Because sometimes – as Cica Ghost reminds us through her June / July 2022 installation, all we need is a little splash of colour to gift us with a sense of joy.
Capturing the sense of fun exhibited with Garden (see: Happiness in Cica’s Garden in Second Life), this installation – called, for the record, Coloured Images – invites us to take a trip back to those younger times when our imaginations lay unfettered, and a new world lay in the promise of a blank sheet of paper and coloured sticks (or indeed, in the bricks or pieces of a toy building set).
Backed by a dark sky spotted with blobs and snowflakes of colour substituting for stars, the installation presents itself as a series of brightly coloured buildings – some complete, others not; some with bits and pieces of painted materials scattered around as if awaiting their turn to be used.
These buildings mostly stand on bases that suggest piece of card painted by hand to give the impression of surrounding gardens and footpaths, while walls carry painted images of creatures smiling happily and windows and great doorways edged as if with flooring petals. With strangely hued and coloured plants adding to the mix, and floors and different levels linked by simply-formed stairways, the entire setting is rich in its sense of imaginative invention and carefree innocence.
Within it, the animals and creatures are not just two-dimensional; they also exist as 3D characters waiting to be found. Some again look to have been painted by young hands that care little for “realism” such as the need for browns, white and black to predominate the coats of cows, or that caterpillars should for the most part be green. Instead, there is a further joyous riot of colour among all the creatures – from aforementioned upright elephant and multi-legged alien through to snakes, caterpillars, cows and more – that is exuberant in the sense of freedom it exudes.
Cica Ghost: Coloured Images, June 2022
As always with Cica’s installations, there are multiple sit points and dance animators waiting to be found (including one sit point right at the landing area – just look to one of the walls!), giving Coloured Images a further sense of fun as one explores.
In May 2022, Terrygold opened I Would, a further installation of art exploring personal themes of, life, love, and the passage of time. It is something of a third chapter in a series that started with Empty Chairs (see: Terrygold’s Empty Chairs: remembrance in Second Life) and then continued with Rain (see Terrygold’s Rain in Second Life), which – at the time of writing this article, at lease – is still open to visitors at Terrygold’s gallery, alongside I Would.
As with its predecessors, I Would takes visitor on a journey of two parts; one reflecting on childhood and the innocence carried within it; the other the increasingly harsh realities of life within a society which appears to be growing ever more isolationist, intolerant and selfish. These two parts are mirrored one to the other, but they are not reflections of one another; rather they are windows into different states of mind, linked by the presence of Terry, an adult woman who is both guide and voice of the artist’s – and our own – thoughts.
Terrygold: I Would
In the first part of the installation, we travel with Terry from her house and through a park; a place which, in childhood was never short of magical and where excitement and fun and release always awaited and where something might always be found to delight. A place where any little girl could be a princess and dream dreams of a future bright within happiness and light, and within which the realities of human nature were hidden – as least until seen through the weary eyes of adulthood.
In the second, we also start within Terry’s house, but on exiting, we pass onto a street of a modern town; a place dark, dreary and where anger gnashes teeth, and everything appears to be in a state of decay and uncaring selfishness. This is a street where anger is quick to boil over, and where those that have care little for the hardship of those who do not have, whilst being without is grounds to exude the right to threaten and to take.
All of this is evidenced in the words spoken in local chat by Terry as you come across her at various points in both scenes, and also through the words of other characters that might also be found, whilst mood is set by the framing of the scenes and the vignettes waiting within them.
Terrygold: I Would
Within the park, for example, we travel from Terry’s house through the bright colours and magical mysteries imagined by childhood eyes, to arrive back at Terry’s house as it sits in the harshness of winter – symbolic of the passage of time as we grow from the gaiety of childhood to the coldness of adult life. Meanwhile, in the street scene we find a subtle amplification between those who have, and those who do not: in a garden protected by a high fence, a little girl plays happily, utterly oblivious of the little girl down the street cut off from her enjoyment of the local swings thanks to the vandalism of others and the force erection of another, and altogether different, high fence.
Throughout both scenes the words of the character of Terry give us pause for thought and to question. Why is life like this? Why do we so readily give up on the magic and promise of childhood to settle so readily into the cynicism and cruelty of adult life? What is it about our natures and our societies that make it “easier” to live in anger, resentment, selfishness and disregard, rather than allowing ourselves a more positive and accepting outlook? We obviously cannot remain as innocent as when young – but can we not hold onto the dreams we have, share them, and made the world a better, brighter place by doing so?
Terrygold: I Would
Within each half of the installation are 2D images by Terrygold that offer further reflection and visual tapping of the words offered through the character of Terry. These images add a further layer to our interpretation of I Would as it offers a thought-provoking window into life and the questions we can silently ask of it, and consider the wishes we all have at some point whispered within the stillness of our own thoughts.
On arrival at the gallery landing point, use the teleport disk to visit I Would and the other installations.
The Shambles, June 2022 – click any image for full size
Update, July 20236th, 2022: The Shambles has relocated.
The Shambles is the name Tolia Crisp has settled upon for the latest of her Homestead regions designs which she broadly offered to visitors under her Frogmore Land Management group / brand. And for those familiar with the likes of Frogmore and Mousehole, there are elements here that place The Shambles within the same realm of those settings, with much to set it apart and offer a sense of mystery and surprise.
The first of the former of these is that the location is described as being “up the River Foss”; this is likely a reference to the river of that name that flows through North Yorkshire, England, rising close to Oulston Reservoir and meandering roughly south for about 30 kilometres to join the River Ouse in York. This puts The Shambles squarely into Tolia’s theme of English settings, albeit within a location pretty much diagonally at the other end of the country compared to Frogmore and Mousehole with their Cornish locales.
The Shambles, June 2022
However, where Frogmore and Mousehole have their feet pretty much rooted in reality, The Shambles stands well to one side, a veritable potpourri of themes and ideas brought together in a surprising whole that delights the eyes. This is something that is immediately obvious on arrival: sitting behind the landing point platform and hovering over a broad channel that sits between village and an oddly denuded hump of an island, is a strange windmill, held aloft by downward-pointing rotors spinning away beneath it and the metal deck before it. In fact, with its larger sail turning slowly behind it, it looks not so much like a floating windmill as it does a fanciful flying house.
The landing point occupies a tiny islet connected to the village by a metal bridge around which tentacles rise from the coastal waters, adding a touch of Innsmouth to the setting.
The Shambles, June 2022
On the little waterfront across the bridge are hints which, together with the hovering house / windmill, help the setting lean towards the suggestion that is it steampunk themed. Cogs turn slowly on the wall of a cottage as a kind of mobile décor; a great gas boiler pumps heat into the cottage’s interior and, further along the waterfront, what looks to be the face of an old copper clock has been fashioned into a table where refreshments might be taken, watched over by a mechanical messenger owl.
However, it doesn’t take much to realise that the themes here run much broader than steampunk alone; close to the table mentioned above, for example, a poster hangs from the doorway of a magic shop proclaiming Harry Potter is Undesirable No 1, while the waterfront itself is probably awash with the engine noise from the Star Wars-esque flying vehicle which appears to have just passed overhead, zipping between rooftops and the bulbous bulk of a balloon moored by the landing point.
The Shambles, June 2022
Enter the main street of the village, and more of this blending of ideas unfolds before your eyes in ways that are genuinely captivating. A dieselpunk tricycle, driven by a great chugging internal combustion engine turning a pusher propeller awaits a driver; futuristic lasers zap between buildings; a steampunk style airship appears to have wedged itself into the cul-de-sac of the street, neon signs and LCD panels hang from walls…
This is a place where nothing is as it seems and unique elements are waiting to be found everywhere the camera turns. Take, for example, Cordelia Curiosus and the boulangerie adjoining it. Leaving the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference in the name of the former, these initially appear to be ordinary places of business. But look again: the windows of Cordelia’s are aquariums, home to fish and corals, the water held in by a combination of window frames and – magic? Similarly the wall between the two shops is a shimmering face of water held back by something, the boulangerie a further haven for fish, turtles and aquatic plants.
The Shambles, June 2022
More touches can be found across the street, where a host of incongruities are gathering into a little vignette that offers so much. There’s a Victorian-era Bobby standing with his back to a pub cheekily calling itself the Scotland Yard, the walls of will are posted with a reward poster typical of those times and the front page of a newspaper offering the latest on the Whitechapel Murders – and the involvement of one S. Holmes, Esq.
The Bobby himself stands between a set of very futuristic packing cases before which floats a glowing umbrella projected by an equally glowing wand, none of which seems to fluster our good constable in the slightest – and nor does the London Police telephone box very definitely from the 1960s – so very definitely in fact, that one might be tempted to ask if it really is a police telephone box – and thus the entire vignette allows the imagination to take flight.
The Shambles, June 2022
Thus, wherever you roam, down through the village with its little stream and cornucopia of buildings, businesses and photo opportunities, or up on and between the rooftops, there is a lot to appreciate within The Shambles – far more than mentioned here. Yes, it is a little texture-heavy when loading; but it is nevertheless highly photogenic and offers more than a few places to sit down and pass the time. Those in the Frogmore group also get rezzing rights when visiting – but do please clean-up when done!
I have been fortunate to follow a large part of Milena Carbone’s artistic journey in Second Life. Since her first major exhibition of work I visited (Agape, February 2020), Milena has repeatedly demonstrated the inherent power of art to challenge, to question, to offer statements on life, politics religion and self, to engage and to provoke.
Her work has tackled subjects as diverse as the nature of reality, self-perception and the realities (or otherwise) of “god”; it has plumbed the depths of our humanity (and inhumanity), of identify and self, and even navigated the waters of quantum field theory and the Casmir effect.
Kondor Art Square: Milena Carbone – Introspective
Thus, whilst offering a retrospective of her work after just three years of exhibiting it in Second Life might be seen as something of an exercise in ego, it is not (for one thing, I know Milena is far too self-aware to allow her ego to get in the way of things). Rather, it is a chance for those who have not had the ability to observe the evolution of her work and explore her ideas and thoughts on life, human nature, reality and self, to do so by acquainting themselves with piece from her catalogue of work to date, and to consider the paradigms she explores and presents. Equally, for Milena, it is an opportunity to revisit her work from earlier times and consider it under the light of her current thinking and world-view.Hence why, in receiving the invitation from Hermes Kondor to mount a retrospective of her work within the Art Square of his arts hub, Milena opted to title the exhibition Introspective, and frame it around a central commentary and three questions. The latter initially appear to be offered as a means to help frame her continued presence within SL; however, they actually reach much further than this.
Kondor Art Square: Milena Carbone – Introspective
Within all three resides both a cry oft heard down the ages, and also a challenge to us all in the here and now: why, really, are we here; what purpose do we serve? When are we finally going to put pettiness and anger and hate behind us and truly learn acceptance of one another and embrace love for one another? When will we, quite frankly, cease the shouting din of childish behaviours and grow up as a species?
Around the introductory boards (which on their reverse sides offer copies of the books Milena has produced in reference to some of her exhibitions, thus offering further insight and means of retrospection) and against the edges of the square are pieces taken from Milena’s exhibitions. These start in the north-east corner of the square and proceed south and then around to the north-west corner, arranged in chronological order. Each is presented with text either from the exhibition itself, or designed to offer a framing for it – text which also, for those willing to read, muse and reflect, offering further reverberations of the core questions Milena asks.
Kondor Art Square: Milena Carbone – Introspective
These images, in and of themselves, also allow us to travel through Milena’s growth in both experimentation and in confidence with her ability to use the tools at her disposal to represent her art and her thoughts and in allowing her inner voices to speak in unison and / or equally.
Introspective is an exhibition that can be appreciated purely visually; however, its full richness comes in taking the artist’s hand and walking through her words and thoughts in reflection of the images and the introduction.
