Lavender Springs, May 2025 – click any image for full size
Back in September 2024 I dropped into Les Bean at the Salty C, a coffee house within the Cerulean regions (see Coffee and a Salty C in Second Life).
Designed by members of the extended Cerulean family, notably (at the time of my visit) Emmerson Skye Cerulean (Emm Evergarden) of The Nature Collective fame and Teagan Cerulean, it is one of a number of places held across Second Life by members of the family – and somewhere to which I’ve received an invitation to make a further visit, and plan to do so in the near future.
Lavender Springs, May 2025
Another location designed by members of the Cerulean family – V Cerulean Rhys (Veronika Nightfire)and Dani Cerulean (Dani Varela) joining Emm and Teagan – is that of Lavender Springs, a charming retreat offering hot springs, relaxation and opportunities for photography, sitting on the south side of Heterocera.
Located at the end of a short dirt track connecting it with the cobbles of the Atoll Road, Lavender Springs sits and an open-air retreat, a large sign encouraging people to explore, and a notice board offering information on the Cerulean Sea, the Nature Collective and the Greenwich Café – a coffeehouse apparently inspired by England’s Lake District, and so may well end up on my list of places written about.
Lavender Springs, May 2025
Small it might be, by Lavender Springs is perfectly formed and richly engaging. Three hot springs are available for bathing – two on one side of the stream flowing through the setting. The third is reached via a fallen tree trunk now doubling as a bridge across the colder waters of the swiftly-flowing waters of the stream as they tumble away from the local falls.
The first two springs are reached by crossing two wide stepped decks. One is the home of a massage therapy area, the other offers relaxation in the Sun. They are partnered by a stack of Zen rocks forming a tall pedestal for yoga and meditation.
Lavender Springs, May 2025
Oak, Jacaranda, Wildberry form a screen of mature trees to provide shade and some degree of privacy, while the large pool into which the stream flows perhaps offers the opportunity for cold plunges after time in the hot springs. For those seeking a quieter means of relaxation, a swing might also be found.
Watched over by egrets, completed by a gentle soundscape and offer a lot of detail in so small an area, Lavender Springs is another space adding considerably beauty to the Mainland.
Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home – May 2025 – click any image for full size
As is probably apparent from past articles in this blog, I enjoy science fiction in most of its various forms, be it literary, television, film or radio; and whether it takes the form of epic space opera or near / far-future explorations or action / adventure or comedic in nature. However, whilst I’ve read everyone from Adams to Zelazny, I have, in all honesty, never been overly enamoured with Frank Herbert’s Dune (neither the original novel nor the franchise as a whole).
I say this because Dune – in the form of Arrakis and its hardy inhabitants, the Fremen – forms the inspiration of JimGarand’s latest build (as of May 2025): Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home. Fortunately for those who, like myself, are not soaked in the lore of Dune as it might be found on paper or on film, one does not have to have an in-depth knowledge of either the planet or the the tale in order to appreciate the setting.
Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home – May 2025
Rather, all that is required is the knowledge that the Fremen arrived on Arrakis as a religious sect, thousands of years prior to the events within the franchise, becoming a numerous and hardy race, fully adapted to life on the desert world, living as tribal communities within cave warrens they call “sietch”, meaning “place of assembly in time of danger” (and borrowed from sich – a term meaning military / administrative centre – of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, not that this is of any relevance at all in the scheme of things 😀 ).
The sietch of Arrakis, I believe, come in a range of sizes. Within Grauland, Jim and his partner, PaleLily, offer a fairly modest vision of such a centre of Fremen life, located somewhere within the greater desert of Arrakis. And while I cannot offer insight into the sietch found within the novels or associated films, etc., I can say that whilst minimal, Grauland: Arrakis / Fremen Home offers an interesting setting ripe for those seeking something a little different in which to take photographs.
Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home – May 2025
Surrounded by a desert expanse, this rocky sietch has been hewn within a low mesa, the entrance to which can be found a short walk from the Landing Point. Within it, as one might expect given the general description of such places, is a warren of tunnels, halls and rooms hewn from the living rock.
Some of the tunnels within this warren are roughly cut, walls and floors unfinished; others have squared-off walls, paved floored and properly supported doorways. Similarly, the rooms come in various forms, from simple cubes of space through to a grand pillared hall suggestive of a council chamber of or meeting place – or place of worship. Lights sit above doors, in ceilings and along walls provide pools of illumination which are particularly effective when running with shadows enabled.
Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home – May 2025
Perhaps the greatest delight within the sietch is its massive pool of water. When discovered, it can be the most unexpected find; it is also the one location within the sietch utilising a reflection probe, potentially as a result of it using a section of Alex Bader’s excellent PBR mesh water. Taken as a whole, it forms a relaxing focal point, with places to sit and meditate to one side.
As noted, this is something of a minimalist build, although I believe it might be one that evolves; whilst there are rooms either empty or only partially furnished, I’ve been given to understand Jim and Poly are interested in being pointed towards items that might sit within the overall setting without looking out-of-place.
Grauland – Arrakis / Fremen Home – May 2025
Those who find their way through the tunnels, halls and circular doors might find their way to a landing bay complete with a shuttle vehicle parked within it. Whilst the latter isn’t an Ornithopter, it also does not look out-of-place here as a piece of technology that might exist on Arrakis. The same might be said of the ship passing overhead.
Simple but attractive and well-suited to avatar photography – particularly for Dune fans – Arrakis / Fremen Home makes for an interesting visit.
Drawn from the Latin, simulacrum (“likeness, semblance”) entered the language of European art during the late 1500s, when was originally used to refer to a painting or statue directly representing someone or something (most notably a god or deity). However, by the 19th century, it had come to express an artistic endeavour – notably an image – formed without the substance or qualities of the original (e.g. to use a more modern example: a photocopy of a photograph of a painting).
It is a term which is particularly relevant today thanks to the rapid rise of generative AI tools, and the manner in which they can be used to literally churn out prompt-based images over and over without any genuine artistic input or understanding of the actual desired request or the inconsistencies, anachronisms and outright errors present within the final product.
Of course, those using such tools diligently will argue that they are merely a tool; when balanced with a critical eye and the use of other tools to refine, enhance and correct, they can be used to produce richly diverse pieces that do have originality within them. This is actually not an unfair summation, as far as it goes.
The problem¹ here is that the vast majority of users of such generative tools don’t exercise skill or talent. They prompt, wait, publish, often using minor variations of the same prompt ad nauseam (“make the woman’s hair colour blue”) to produce a stream of near identical images (as all too often seen on the likes of Deviant Art). There is little originality within such pieces when compared one to the next; worse, there is little in the way of critical review, and those aforementioned errors are allowed to persist. Worse still, all this repetition (complete with errors) is fed back into the data pool, further diluting it and increasing the regurgitation of vacuous elements to form what amounts to self-perpetuating simulacrums, devoid of originality and talent.
This constant cycle of regurgitation and repetition without originality is explored by Manoji Yachvili (onceagain), in her exhibition Simulacrum, currently on display at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas. It is also very much a personal expression of Manoji’s own increasing sense of artistic loss and frustration as she sees creative expression, skill and progress within art and artistic experimentation vanishing in a rising tide of banality.
Reality no longer exists, it has disappeared, crumbled by the media and modern technologies that propose images that do not refer to reality, that receive meaning only from other images and that are perpetually regenerated, thus remaining increasingly disconnected from what was originally real. Everything I see has an appearance and the power of appearance, without a faithful external image and therefore devoid of the original vitality.
To achieve this, Manoji presents a collection of original paintings that are richly expressive whilst clearly echoing the banality and emptiness of the kind all too easily spewed forth by generative AI. Through the use of simple, repeated elements – masks, faceless figures, and muted colours – she beautifully conveys the empty, expressionless redundancy so common within generative AI art.
Yes, these are all paintings utilising common themes elements – but each of them is completely original in form and presentation, allow it to stand on its own as a singular, unique piece carrying with it an ability to speak to each of us differently. Thus, these are pieces that reach beyond the artist, offering a richness of expression and meaning, standing not as the result of a collection of prompts, but as a prompt for our imaginations to take flight within them.
In doing so, Manoji establishes the genuine power of art through the hand, eye and talent originating from within the artist, making this a beautiful expressive collection, each piece standing in its own right as a genuine work of art.
Please note that within this article, I’m intentionally avoiding issues of copyright and ownership in relations to the “training” of generative AI tools, because while these are clearly of concern generally, they are not the focus of the exhibition being reviewed.
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025 – click any image for full sizeFor May – the start of which has become somewhat indelibly linked with science fiction over the last several decades – Saskia Rieko and Konrad (kaiju.kohime) bring us their own epic sci-fi tale; one with its roots in a galaxy-spanning civilisation called the Ythari.
Born long before most others, the Ythari were driven by their insatiable intellects, boundless ambition and an overbearing pride and arrogance which perhaps led to their downfall.
The Ythari once ruled over a vast and enigmatic galaxy known as Veilspire — a name derived from its most haunting feature: a towering, luminous rift that cuts across its heart, like a tear in the fabric of space-time. This anomaly called the Axiom Rift, existing in the very centre of the galaxy, is believed to be the result of their final and most ambitious experiment — perhaps even the very thing that led to their disappearance.
– from the records of Dr. Khiraan Valis
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025
Konrad and Saskia have always produced richly engaging settings within Second Life, often drawing on inspiration from locations and event on or from our physical world. Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, however is utterly different in theme and tone – although its depth easily equals that of any of the previous designs the couple have presented. Whilst it might not draw from events and locations we might all directly research, instead being born entirely of the imagination, it nevertheless comes with a rich back-story; one capable of forming the basis of a novel from the likes or Asimov, Heinlein or James S. A. Corey (aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) for an entire novel.
Mixing a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for understanding with towering abilities and intelligence, the story of the Ythari is one of a galaxy-spanning empire built not on war or dominion, but on the foundations of science, intellect, and an ability to conceive everything within their galaxy from the quantum level to the macro, without any apparent discontinuities of scale.
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025
Veilspire was no ordinary galaxy. Unlike the spiral and elliptical galaxies known to modern astronomers, its structure bore evidence of deliberate engineering. Star systems arranged in mathematically perfect formations, gravity-defying megastructures orbiting black holes with impossible stability, and entire regions where time seemed to flow at inconsistent rates, with the centre of the creation, The Axiom Rift — all hints that the Ythari did not merely live in their galaxy, they designed it with the development of The Equation of Being.
– from the records of Dr. Khiraan Valis
It is also a tale of galactic overreach and a hubris which – perhaps inevitably – could only result in one of two outcomes. Outcomes which themselves might perhaps be indistinguishable from one another, thanks to the passage of aeons and when looked upon through the eyes of a far-future humanoid race stumbling across the crumbling, but still magnificent relics the Ythari left in their wake.
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025
As they neared the completion of their greatest project — an attempt to rewrite the fundamental laws of reality — they miscalculated. Or perhaps they succeeded too well. One by one, their great cities, planets, even the whole solar systems fell silent … The Ythari simply… ceased. Their towering spires, their quantum archives left behind as if abandoned in an instant. No bodies. No signs of struggle. Only silence and the mysterious humming of the abandoned Axiom Rift.
– from the records of Dr. Khiraan Valis
To best appreciate the setting, make sure you have your viewer set the Use Shared Environment, and you have media set to play (at least initially in the case of the latter). The arrival point will provide you with the back-story in the form of a records / log entry by one Dr. Khiraan Valis, an archaeologist dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the Ythari.
The latter is played back over the computer screens and consoles at the landing Point, and really is worth listening to. For those who prefer, the same information can be obtained by clicking the traditional Natthimmel greeting (and setting name) on the ground of the Landing Point, and accepting the offered folder. This contains a notecard with the information given within the narration. For those who do listen to the audio, I would strongly suggest pausing media playback (click the movie camera icon / button towards the top right corner of the viewer’s window), as the narrative track can otherwise overwhelm the ambient sounds within the setting.
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025
Stormy, eerie and caught under a roiling, almost angry Expanse in which the eye of a galactic core balefully stares from one horizon, this is an environment for which words – genuinely – are not enough. Beyond the consoles and systems at the Landing Point, as left by Dr. Valis and her team, this is an assuredly alien setting. Within it, a water-like sea slips into a low-lying landscape. This initially appears to be dotted with strange tree-like groves. However, closer inspection reveals them to be more rock-like than organic – or perhaps they are the fossilised remains of something; and while there is the odd tree to be found, organics as we might recognise them are few and far between.
Even the paths laid across the water have a geometry about them that feels alien. None lead directly from A to B; instead they seem to be some kind of mathematical expression, as much a part of the gigantic towers and other structures within and floating over these strange lands.
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025
Broken, decaying, and ominous even when countered but the roiling heavens beyond them, these structures are riven by massive discharges of energy, themselves accompanied by rolling booms which fall upon the ears as the funerial beat of drums. Whether these discharges are is being generated by whatever remain powers keep at least some of these artefacts raised in defiance of gravity, or whether the explosions of light and energy are the angry response of the atmosphere to their hulking presence, is yours to determine.
Not all the structures are airborne or massive; floating on the waters are polygonal forms, cables and relays on them looking as if they might have once drawn power from the waters – or discharged it into the waver over which they sit. They sit around the remnants of the great towers as if part of their ancient function. Steps climb the interiors of the towers, while outside of one is an indication that the Ythari might not have vanished completely.
Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars, May 2025
The very few who dare to explore their ruins tell of anomalies time fractures where the past leaks through, machines that seem to remember their creators, and strange, whispering voices that seem to come from nowhere. The Ythari may be gone, but something of them lingers. Watching. Waiting.
Beautiful, visually impressive, rich in narrative and creativity, edged in mystery and a hint of dread, Ythari – Echoes of the Silent Stars is a magnificent journey of the imagination.
Bryn Oh’s Imogen and the Pigeons first appeared in Second Life over a decade ago. Like all of Bryn’s art, it was deeply immersive, experimental, and offered a depth of narrative that might be seen as both challenging to navigate with its layered themes, and visually engaging. Also, as with most of Bryn’s work, it sat within her broader narrative universe, started with her Rabbicorn story, with its most direct link to that universe being via The Singularity of Kumiko, which was both a physical prequel to Imogen and the Pigeons and as sequel – so to speak – to Imogen’s life, focusing as it did on the story of Imogen’s daughter.
However, whilst I have attempted to follow all of Bryn’s creativity within these pages, Imogen and the Pigeons is a work that escaped my attention back in 2013, so I was pleased to be able to pay a visit to it following its extensive update and return to Second Life, where it re-opened on April 25th, 2025.
Bryn Oh: Imogen and the Pigeons, May 2025
As noted, this is a story sitting within Bryn’s broader narrative universe. But this does not mean you necessarily need to have specific knowledge of that universe; the central themes of Imogen are accessible to anyone visiting, and the layering of ideas and themes allows the visitor the opportunity to peel them open howsoever they wish and however deeply they wish, be in during a single visit or over multiple visits or as a result of witnessing and allowing what they’ve encountered to whisper quietly to them during and after a visit.
That said, there are core themes throughout Bryn’s work, and these are very present within Imogen, as Bryn explains:
My artistic focus is in the way modern society is affected by technology, ranging between human/machine and machine/machine relationships. Often we consider technology to open channels for people to interact and engage socially, however, the opposite can occur where people become isolated within their own personal bubble, separate and witnessing the world from a distance almost as a product with brittle popularity. My work expresses a yearning for meaningful connections within the new technological realm that often contains human remoteness. I build virtual reality environments that convey the juxtapositions between human emotion and machine sentience. I combine poetry with a melancholy narrative that explores the themes of connection and belonging.
– Bryn Oh
Bryn Oh: Imogen and the Pigeons, May 2025
In terms of presentation, Imogen is richly immersive and takes advantage of some of SL’s most recent updates, such as the use of reflection probes and dynamic mirrors. Core to the installation is Bryn’s own Second Life Experience, which should be accepted on arrival if not a part of your active Experiences. Given all of this, the installation should really be viewed using an up-to-date viewers with, if your system can manage it, at least mirrors being enabled, together with Use Shared Environment set and have local sounds enabled.
It’s also particularly pertinent to remember that Imogen is designed to be both immersive and interactive – a lot of the initial parts of the installation rely on you finding your way forward, and some of the time this may not seem obvious. As such, do be sure to mouse-over things you may find – particularly things which look like they may be buttons or switches. In this latter regard, I’m not just talking about the in-world “audio” buttons you can press to hear recitals of the poems that form the written narrative for the story; there are also those that will open doors and portals.
Bryn Oh: Imogen and the Pigeons, May 2025
Be prepared to put some effort into getting around – routes are not direct (although some are volume-triggered teleports, making transitions between chapters in the story fairly straightforward). When you initially find your way outside, for example, the journey does not end at the water’s edge, but you’ll have to have to exercise care and have a keen eye in order to make your way upwards. However, like Bryn, I’m not going to point you towards where you should go or what you should do.
I have said in the past that I think of my artwork here in virtual worlds almost as paintings you can enter and explore. The beauty of a painting, the immersion of cinema and then meshed in with a new type of open ended freedom of movement combined with interaction. There are many new and interesting techniques to experiment with inside the virtual art form. The one which I brought up at the beginning, that ties into my new build Imogen and the pigeons, is creating immersion within the artistic environment by creating scenarios which challenge the viewer. I generally don’t put out text or arrows to tell the viewer where to go or what to do. I feel this can break the immersion so I let the viewer discover on their own.
– Bryn Oh
Bryn Oh: Imogen and the Pigeons, May 2025
So, what is the story behind Imogen and the Pigeons? As Bryn notes above, it is very much about our relationship with technology. Set in an age where an individual’s memories can be recorded, and then potentially edited, spliced, etc., it explores questions of existence, the human condition, the juxtaposition of connection with others and isolation from them as so often exists when it comes to our increasing reliance on technology for our interactions. Also within it we might find questions concerning our own identity and how we project ourselves in the eyes of others – how willing are we to amend our own histories, intentionally alter our memories and actions when verbalising them, in order to appear more acceptable, more desirable, in their eyes?
Within this, there are many subtexts and other avenues of question those exploring Imogen might find or be prompted to explore. In this I would urge you to observe everything you see at least twice; from the titles of books waiting to be found to drawings on walls to those scattered across a floor in as if torn from a sketchbook and thrown into the air, pretty much everything you encounter within the chapters and scenes, rooms and spaces, throughout Imogen will have something to say.
Bryn Oh: Imogen and the Pigeons, May 2025
Even were the route straight-forward, this layering of ideas and subtext is such that Imogen and the Pigeons is not the easiest or nor the most direct narrative to comprehend as one moves through it. Patience and an open, inquisitive mind are essential to both finding your way through the many scenes and rooms and in coming to an understanding as to what might be being whispered to you by your subconscious, as you find your way from the opening scene and back to it.
And if all this sound cryptic, it is only because I do not want to spoil things for you or for Bryn. There is a depth and richness to Imogen that perhaps reaches beyond the likes of Hand and other environments Bryn has created; an almost perfect balance of narrative, adventure, questioning, reflection, warning and mystery (I’m still boggling about the poem of the writer, and whether her name and her appearance are an intentional reference to a producer of immersive adventures with SL, and if so, what it might potentially mean). Thus, this is an installation which really should be experienced and cogitated upon directly and not offered through a watery translation as I might otherwise give.
Saturday, April 26th saw the opening of the latest addition to Tolla Crisp’s Frogmore / Witherwood Thicket estate (Tolia also holds Goblin’s Knob under the Frogmore banner, but that sits apart from Frogmore / Witherwood Thicket on the grid). All three locations tend to be collaborative works by Tolla and landscaper Dandy Warhlol (terry Fotherington), and I’ve covered them on numerous occasions in this blog.
However, the new area is entirely Tolla’s own work, and has been causing no small amount of excitement in the Frogmore group in the run-up to it opening.
Nemo, April 2025
It is called simply Nemo, and it’s name should give away the fact that it is an underwater environment. In this it both stands apart from the Gothic mystery of Witherwood Thicket itself whilst perhaps also adding another chapter to that location’s enigmatic presence.
Whilst comparatively small in size when compared to the above water element of the region in which it sits, Nemo is by no means a quick, easy visit. There is rather more to be discovered than might at first be apparent from an initial cam-around on arrival (part of the setting are nigh-on a half-region walk from the Landing Point. It is also a setting rich in detail – and I really do mean rich; a casual hop-in / hop-out a waste of time – Nemo is a place to be experienced.
Nemo, April 2025
That said, it is also a place leaning heavily into the use of PBR materials. I’m not sure of Blinn-Phong fallbacks are provided (I no longer run any non-PBR viewers), so if you’re not running a PBR-capable viewer, consider this a warning that Nemo might not appear at its best for you.
In terms of design, the setting really does bring together a lot. Tolla has made superb and considered use of lighting, colour density, reflection probe ambience and animated mesh elements to give a real sense of being undersea. The sea floor is beautifully carpeted in a mix of swamp grasses and ferns, corals, seaweeds, sea anemone, trees and vines as to create the sense of a living, breathing ecosystem warmed by groups of fumaroles.
Nemo, April 2025
Within this environment, all manner of (largely tropical) fish swim, including clown fish. Turtles might also be found together with the odd shark – although his grin suggests he’s not into causing mischief – while jellyfish rise and fall. The Landing Point sit within a ruined structure, its arches suggesting it might have once been a place of worship – although given the Witch King styled statue standing to one side, one has to ask who or what might have once been worshipped…
It is actually one of several submerged structures to be found within the setting. some of these appear to be as equally old; others perhaps more recent, their wooden forms having yet to give in to the predations of water and salt. There is an intriguing mix of detritus and jetsam to be found. An old canon which might be indicative of a ship having come to grief here (and indeed, there is a partial wreck a short distance away) vies with the car from a Ferris wheel for the attention of local growths, the car also sitting close to part of a carousel, suggesting both might have been tossed into the sea intentionally.
Nemo, April 2025
Paths wind through all of this, leading to ruins and structures, caverns and corners as if in a natural maze. Paths are lit by sunlight filtering through from above, the glow of phosphoresce from plants and from what might have once been aboveground lamps which sometimes share space with marble and stone statues. Rock walls also mark routs and divide these underwater gardens into more discrete settings.
With a name like Nemo, the “Finding” part (as I’ve used here) easily comes to mind – but is the setting really about fishy adventures? Sure, there are clown fish – there’s even one on his own waiting to be found. However, to consider the name a direct reference to the Disney / Pixar film (and its sequel) might be a mistake. There is another Nemo worthy of consideration here; one again the subject of the Disney treatment – albeit in live action format in his case, as embodied by James Mason (although he is far from the only actor to have taken on the role in question).
Nemo, April 2025
I’m of course referring to Jules Verne’s anti-hero, Captain Nemo, commander and designer of the marvellous Nautilus. The reason I feel the “Nemo” reference is more to him than a clown fish is simple: within the set it is possible to find Nemo’s Study, a very human retreat, albeit it now flooded. There is also a submerged library – and Captain Nemo was most certainly a learned man; while clown fish may have many gifts, I’m not convinced reading is one of them!
Of course, we’re all free to let our imaginations construct theories and stories to go with the setting – and leave us not forget, it does lie under waves that wash against Witherwood Thicket, as if the setting might once have been a part of that landscape. So perhaps there is a story there as well. But whatever paths our imaginations take, one thing is abundantly clear, Nemo offers a richly engaging visit.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 