Mareea’s Summer Vibes at Eulennest Art GallerySummer Vibes is the title of an exhibition of art by Mareea Farrasco that is open through until the start of October 2021 at the Eulennest Gallery, and which I dropped into over the weekend.
Mareea is both the owner / curator of IMAGO Land and the IMAGO Land Gallery, and she is also an accomplished art in Second Life, producing both landscape images and avatar studies with a deft hand and eye for detail. As the name might suggest, Summer Vibes is a selection of Mareea’s art focused on summer scenes.
Mareea’s Summer Vibes at Eulennest Art Gallery
Created in Second Life, the 14 images presented at Eulennest present summertime scenes, many with a coastal theme, and all of which have a strong focus on nature and flowers. Most of the pieces are finished as watercolours, their tone light and airy, reflective of the scenes they present, with some also finished in colour choices that give them a captivating, dream-like quality – take Lavender Sky and Oblivion… as examples of the latter.
One of the things I love about Mareea’s is the manner in which she brings the sky to life. Whilst summer days can have clear blue skies, and remain bright under white rivers of clouds, so too can the summer sky carry with it the omens of weather to come. These are aspects that Mareea perfectly captures – again, take On the Beach, Enjoying the Moment and Beach Grass; each offers a summer scene, time on the beach, the opportunity to relax on a wooden pier – but the sky of each has a brooding presence, the hint or promise that as the day draws to a close, so might the weather be on the change.
Mareea’s Summer Vibes at Eulennest Art Gallery
It is this breath of life, of familiarity in her scenes that makes Mareea’s art instantly attractive, and this is added to by the décor Mareea has added to the gallery space, the flowers inviting us further into summertime as this blend with her images to present a sense of presence as you explore the art.
An engaging and delightful exhibition, well worth visiting.
The terms tough guy and tough man are generally defined as a person who is strong or resilient; a durable, often pugnacious and of undoubted resolution and resilience, able to deal with hard or difficult situations or a hard life. Both tend to bring to mind the hard-boned loner – cowboy, warrior, etc., perhaps battling the odds. Someone of a disposition to be reckoned with.
All of this is true enough, as far as it goes. But the “tough” part of these terms isn’t just about being a hard man, a fighter, or similar, or in having to show any particular prowess off. The genuine “tough man” is a person of confidence, understanding, and strength of conviction and ethics such that he is willing to do the right thing; he is a person that doesn’t see the need to hide behind façades of toughness or be afraid to should emotions or vulnerability.
It is these latter points that make Hilaire Beaumont’s new exhibition Tough Man, which opened on August 11th at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas, an outstanding selection of single-frame stories.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Tough Man
Hilaire is well-know for his avatar studies, although he does not tend to exhibit that often in-world – something that makes Tough Man even more appealing. He also does not regard himself as an artist – a point I would dispute, because his works contain all the richness to be found in any true work of art, not just from a technical perspective: framing, lighting, colour, etc., but because of the sheer depth of story each and every image carries with it, together with the richness of life, vitality and emotion each conveys.
This is doubtless in part because of his background in role-play in Second Life. Creating and inhabiting a character is very much an artform it itself; bringing that character to life such that they can be believed and interacted with requires a strength of imagination and willingness to emote and remain in character. Coming from that background gives Hilaire, I would suggest, a deeper connection with his characters, and this is evidenced in the twelve images presented in this selection.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Tough Man
In this 12 images (the exhibition poster is actually by David Silence, albeit based on an image by Hiliare), all of them new for this exhibition, gets inside his characters in a manner that sets his work above others; whereas an avatar study is generally posed and framed to convey an emotion such that the image is essentially a moment out of time, the avatar a puppet in the telling of the story, Hiliare’s work genuinely conveys the story of the character within each of these images. Thus, rather than being a moment out of time, these are very much moments in time, capturing a specific point in the life of the character.
And while they well be framed in “tough man” situations, they go further than the typical archetype; each one offers a depth of emotion that is the true hallmark of the tough man – that willingness to stand firm for what is right, to show vulnerability, to stand against odds for something worth believing in; to be someone who finds not loneliness in being alone, but the comfort of his own company.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Tough Man
As pieces of art or as stories or missives on the nature of the tough man, these are pieces that have a lot to say, and as an exhibition, Tough Man should not be missed.
The Path to Buchhaim, August 2021 – click any image for full size
Back in May 2020, Num Bing-Howlett (Num Bing) and her partner Clifton Howlett) invited me to visit The Empire of Dreaming Books, an environment to honour the Zamonia series of books by German comic creator and author, Walter Moers (see: An empire of books in Second Life). The setting quickly – and rightly – became very popular among Second Life travellers, who now once again have the opportunity to travel to Zamonia, as Num and Clifton present The Path to Buchhaim.
The couple were kind enough to extend a personal invitation for me to visit this latest installation of their vision of Moer’s mystical land over the weekend, which I was delighted to accept – although offering a write-up has taken a while for me to get to.
The Path to Buchhaim, August 2021
With Empire of Dreaming Books, Num and Clifton set a scene fairly focused on the city of Buchhaim, with its myriad bookshops, printers, and publishers. Now, in The Path to Buchhaim, the focus switches the focus a little away from the city to expand on the landscape of the Dull Plateau that was to be found in part the previous design, and which here offers some of the many trails that cross the plateau to converge of Buchhaim whilst also offer some of the steppe-like feel of the Dull landscape (a name that while taken from the Zamonia books, is a contradiction in terms here, given the richness to be found as one wanders the undulating landscape, whether keeping to the trails or walking through the long grass and seas of flowers).
The Path to Buchhaim, August 2021
A portion of the city is still to be found tucked into a corner of the region. It offers what appears to the end-knot of the winding alley of Schwarzmanngaße, and shop number 333, the home of Phistomefel Smeik and his bookimistic laboratory. Here – should you decide to accept it – an Experience awaits with the opportunity to be teleported to three further destinations.
I had hoped one of these destinations might be the the catacombs, as presented in the previous Zamonia build. However, two of the listed options will carry visitors to Hidden Bottle, another region design by Num and Clifton, and which I wrote about in May 2021, while the third goes to The Digital Apperture, a skybound gallery Clifton and Num present. At the time of my visit, the latter featured an exhibition by the couple entitled A Day at Elvion (a destination also on my list for a return visit, as I understand it has expanded to Full region).
The Path to Buchhaim, August 2021
Whilst not a part of the theme of The Path to Buchhaim, both of these destinations are very much worth dropping into, with Hidden Bottle offering a further bewitching visit for those who have not previously seen it, with the portals there obviously offering a gateway to reach this setting, those coming through them – and returning from the gallery – being delivered to the cobbles in front of the good professor’s shop.
Of course, I may have missed an entrance to the catacombs if they are still present – in which case, silly me – but even without them, this is still a setting where the central character is that of the book. Across the region books offer places to sit or stand as walls or stepping stones or rise rise in piles – they even form a kind of landslide as they fall away down a slope and into the waters of the island’s coast.
The Path to Buchhaim, August 2021
Also to be found throughout the setting are numerous places to sit, both for individuals and for couples or groups of friends. Most of these are outdoors, although a couple of the bookshops in the little corner of Buchhaim offer quiet retreats as well. And needless to say, the entire setting is beautifully photogenic, the region’s environment settings making for an ideal backdrop for images.
All of which makes for a richly engaging visit, and rather than prattle on here, I’m going to urge those of you who have not done so already, to jump across an immerse yourself in this introduction to Zamonia and explore the Paths to Buchhaim.
Art Korner Gallery: Alexandro Hurricane (See below for more)
Update, June 27th, 2022: Art Korner has Closed.
Recently opened at the Main Gallery spaces within Frank Atisso’s Art Korner, is a quintet of exhibitions that together make for an engaging visit, offering as they do a cross-section of styles and subject matter, and which form the focus of the first part of this review. They feature the work of Carisa Franizzi, Alexandro Hurricane, Apollo Scribe, Syn Huntress and Blayze Benoir.
Carisa Franizzi is not new to Second Life, having been involved in the platform for more than a decade. However, she is relatively new to the world of SL art, having taken the plunge just a couple of years ago. Nevertheless, she is proving herself an adept landscape photographer. Her presence at Art Korner marks my second exposure to her work, the first being in late 2020, when I had the pleasure of seeing a selection of her black-and-white images at IMAGOLand.
Art Korner Gallery: Carisa Franizzi
Here she presents 9 colour and a single monochrome image, each with its own little tale to tell. All are going to capture and hold the eye, but I admit it was the lone monochrome Falling on Hard Times that really moved me.
Across the hall from Carisa’s exhibit is that of Alexandro Hurricane, who is the only artist in this group to present his physical world art through Second Life.
So far as I am aware, this is the first time I’ve witnessed Alexandro’s work, and I have found myself completely smitten; His eye for detail is just incredible, the focus of his painting completely unique, and his willingness to share his sense of humour with his audience so readily apparent through the likes of Photographer, with its nod-and-wink towards the idea of self-portrait, Teddy Airman, and This is Love. Alongside of these, his pieces focused on flowers and household items and nothing short of exquisite.
Art Korner Gallery: Apollo Scribe
Apollo Scribe really need no introduction; his avatar studies are some of the most enticing examples of single-frame narrative to be found within Second Life. What is particular engaging about his work is that he is one of a small handful of SL photography exponents who largely eschew PhotoShop and GIMP, preferring to produce their masterpieces purely through the viewer (possibly with some pre-processing thanks to the likes of Reshade).
At Art Korner, Apollo presents a collection of four studies of the female avatar face, each offering a pose and view that demonstrates just how powerfully emotions can be transmitted through the avatar’s face.
Art Korner: Syn Huntress
Located out in the two buildings that flank the main gallery building are exhibitions by two artists who are again relatively new to the SL art scene, although they are not necessarily new to SL as whole. Their exhibitions offer a sense of balance as they face each other across the lawns, one being entirely avatar-centric and in colour, and the other being largely landscape focused and presented in black-and-white.
The artists are Syn Huntress (avatar studies) and Blayze Benoir(landscape with some avatar pieces). Both offer works that capture the attention with their style and presentation. Syn’s work mostly clearly offers tales in which her avatar is the protagonist or central character, while Blayze presents pieces that perfectly encapsulate the term landscape as art.
Art Korner has been my first exposure to the work of both of these artists, and I look forward to witnessing more in the future.
Art Korner Gallery: Blayze Benoir
There is a further exhibition currently underway at Art Korner that I want to draw attention to here. Immersion sits within a skybox overhead the main gallery spaces, and is a tour de force in monochrome photography, with the majority of the images presented in black and white or sepia, while those offered in colour do so in a beautifully light touch.
Produced and presented by BethBridget – an artist whose work I do not recall seeing in Second Life prior to this exhibition (which is not to say she hasn’t exhibited elsewhere) – Immersion is presented as a walk-through in which visitors can literally immerse themselves in Beth’s work thanks to the perfectly minimalist environment comprising a number of rooms arranged around the landing point such that one started and end with it. When visiting, please ensure you utilise the Shared Environment.
Art Korner Gallery: BethBridgetStill images these may be, but captured through the medium of Second Life, each and every picture found within the rooms of the exhibition space has a story to tell. What’s more, the use of certain motifs – birds, clouds, skyline, silhouette – serve to offer interconnecting threads that pass through the individual images, offering opportunities to see them as a large tapestry and tale, a factor further assisted by the presence of props within the various rooms.
In this way, Immersion presents not only some of the most captivating images of Second Life’s many landscapes and settings I’ve had the pleasure to see, it also presents us with a story, a graphic novel, if you will, where the characters are moods and emotions, and the story is the interplay of light and dark, and the relationship bird, sky and setting that is beautiful in its subliminal power.
Art Korner Gallery: BethBridget
Six very different artists brought together through two exhibitions both of which will remain open though until late August 2021 and which should not be missed.
Cica Ghost has opened her August installation, and its is one that really doesn’t need a lot of words to describe, other than perhaps those she uses herself:
Happiness is enjoying the little things in your life.
Entitled Lollipop, the installation is pretty much a light-hearted frolic through Cica’s imagination and sense of fun. Many of her trademark elements are here, offering a veritable melting pot of creations we’ve come to know and enjoy, as well as introducing some new characters.
Cica Ghost – Lollipop, August 2021
Among the former are her tall, thin houses that point towards the sky like a collection of slender fingers, the majority of them forming a little town built on platforms over cool blue water; then there are her flowers, this time of a giant size, mostly growing free although here and there they set within pots, whilst also scattered around are her dinosaurs, frogs, ingenious flying machines and multiple sit points with animations and / or dances.
The newer characters take the form of happy mice, and a chap who combines two of Cica’s past creations – cats and fish – and who looks like he would appreciate company, should someone opt to occupy the high chair alongside him. Several sea worms are also to be found, apparently fascinated by Cica’s buildings.
While one of the latter might appear to look upon the occupant of a chair within the house it is curled around as a potential snack the goofy looks of its friends belie any ill intent. However, if you are unconvinced as to the motives of said worm, then perhaps you might want to grab a lollipop from the big machine close to the landing point before trying the seat. That way, if the worm does look hungry, you can always offer him the lollipop!
Cica Ghost – Lollipop, August 2021
Caught under a summer’s sky, the colours of the ground bright and jolly as well, Lollipop is a place for fun, where you can sit, dance, climb, ride and enjoy yourself, free from message and worry. So go on, why not take a lick? And if you like the mice, you can purchase them through Cica’s little shop in a corner of the region 🙂 .
Shangri-La, August 2021 – click any image for full size
In Second Life did Hera (Zee9)
A tropical paradise decree.
Where a hidden Gorgon statue sits
In a cavern that torches dimly lit
And a ship awaits upon the sea.
– with apologies to the estate of Samuel Taylor Coleridge!
Hera (Zee9) is a region creator whose imagination is in many ways unparalleled in Second Life; over the years she has consistently produced immersive environments built around themes that have richly and deservedly captured the hearts and minds of all who have visited them.
Perhaps best known for her ever-evolving Drune builds, many of which I’ve covered in these pages, she had also been the creator of places such as the medieval-like Golgothica and the captivating Venesha. Now, after what she describes as a “hectic and unpleasant four months”, she has opened another build for people to enjoy – and it is another marvel.
Shangri-La, August 2021
Shangri-La, modelled in part on an earlier Drune Raider design, was originally going to be a private place Hera could retreat to and spend time; however, she has generously opted to open it to the public as a place to be enjoyed and explored.
I actually first got to hear about it as she and I shared a brief conversation – as we have on occasion recently, the result of bumping into one another a couple of times quite by chance – just ahead of the weekend, and she kindly offered to provide me with a tour. Sadly, circumstances dictated that I was unable to take the offer then, so Hera dropped the LM to me, and as soon as my schedule allowed, I jumped over to pay a visit.
Quite how you might describe Shangri-La is a matter of personal choice. There is a marvellous fusion of Asian elements that reaches from India through to Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia. At the same time, the very name of the setting – Shangri-La offers echoes of Shangdu, Kublai Khan’s “upper capital”, as well as echoing Hilton’s mystical place within the Kunlun Mountains, whilst climbing the steps and walking around the temple-like structures in places brings with it a faint sense of Mayan history out of South America.
It was the Shangri-La / Shangdu “connection” that brought to my mind Coleridge’s Kubla Khan – hence the opening lines to this piece, based as they are on his work – a poem about a fantastical palace, formed within the imagination; a place of dance, music, pleasure. But where Coleridge’s palace was the product of an opium-addled mind, Hera’s the result of her richness of creativity and imagination – although like Coleridge’s poem, there is a hidden edge to the setting, but where he writes of demon lovers and cries for war, the “shadow” here is much more classical, folding a touch of Grecian mythology into the build, as hinted at in my re-working of the poem’s lines.
Shangri-La, August 2021
From the moment of arrival, it is clear this is place welcoming to those wishing to escape: blankets and cushions are spread cardinal-like around the landing point, with more to be found on the various terraces, along with curtain-draped pergolas, whilst the tree tops and the surrounding beach offer yet more places to sit and relax.
For the explorers, there are halls large and small awaiting discovery – including the lower cavern / hall and its waiting statue, whilst the upper reaches of the main structure bring forth thoughts of Angkor Wat, thanks to the great carved faces mounted on the stone walls. These also highlight another unique aspect of Hera’s region builds: rather than relying purely on commercial kits and building obtain through the Marketplace or in-world, Hera is truly the architect of her settings, designing and creating many of the meshes she uses.
Shangri-La, August 2021
To the south, the temple stretches out over the sea to grasp a rocky outcrop. The back of this stone arm sits a simply gorgeous bar, its roof open to the sky, its narrow length split into three cosy areas whilst a canopied balcony at its far end offers a further retreat.
Whilst in places completely modern in design (the bar and the central lighting), it nevertheless sits perfectly within the “ancient” walls, a place crying out to become a gathering point for like minds and imaginations, masterfully completed by the Vallejo-like paintings Hera has created for the walls, paintings that for me again added a twist of South America to the setting, given their apparent inspiration.
Shangri-La, August 2021
A ship – one of Lia Woodget’s marvellous Blackpsot builds – anchored off the northern coast adds a different sense of era to the setting, its presence suggesting the island has just been the subject of discovery by 18th century explorers from the west. Thus, between bar and ship, Shangri-La encompasses a sense of existing outside the normal passage of time, much like its namesake.
When visiting, I do strongly recommend using the shared EEP settings for the region (admittedly, I’ve post-processed the images here to give a slightly different look to the setting, as I wanted to offer a sense of age to them that might be in keeping with that of the region, and without falling back on purely monochrome / sepia finishes).
Also, do make sure to have Advanced Lighting Model (Preferences Graphics make sure the ALM setting is enabled) as well as local sounds enabled. And as a final side notes, please be aware that while the building set upon its own in the south-west corner of the region might appear to a continuance of the main structures, it is actually a private residence and not part of the public spaces.
Captivating, photogenic and laden with tales awaiting telling, Shangri-La is exactly what its name and About Land description state: a tropical paradise and retreat.
