Officially opening at 12:00 noon on Sunday, August 8th, 2021, is the latest Kultivate Select ensemble exhibition, which takes place in the garden space of the Select Gallery.
The theme for the exhibition is Landscapes, and it features a number of artists who will be familiar to many, especially those who enjoy exhibitions at Kultivate’s galleries, as they are very much part of the Kultivate “family”, and one or two names that may not be so well-known, but who are equally deserving of space in the exhibition.
Those taking part comprise: aquarius27, Cutewillow Carlberg, Eucalyptus Carroll, Freedom Voix, Harmony Evergarden, Jamee Sandalwood, Johannes Huntsman, Moora McMillan, TaraAers, Vanessa Jane, Via Theas and Zia Branner.
Kultivate Select Gallery: TaraAers and Zia Branner
Set around the gallery’s grassy event space, each of the artists has an open-sided hut in which to display their art, presenting a summertime garden environment that fits the theme for the exhibition perfectly. Given the title of the event is “landscapes”, then it should come as no surprise that the majority of the pieces offered feature in-world locations, many of which will likely be instantly identified by the seasoned Second Life travellers whilst offered under a new light through the lenses of the artists.
The notable exceptions to this are Zia Branner, who presents another collection of her paintings that has something of a focus on her captivating coastal views, whilst Harmony Evergarden offers a set of reproductions of her eye-catching original watercolours. I admit that one of the latter (whilst perhaps not the intent of the artist) instantly carried me to the windswept coast of Northumberland, and the curving bay of sand that is watched over by the imposing bulk of Bamburgh Castle. Alongside of Harmony, John Huntsman offers a set from his Garden Collection which, I have to confess, held my attention as I could not determine if they were wholly original, or images from SL post-processed as paintings – or a mix of the two, such is the artistry in their presentation.
Kultivate Select Gallery: Vita Theas and Eucalyptus Carroll
The two-hour opening event will feature the music of Mimi Carpenter and Sarita Twisted, and the dress code is casual.
Finian’s Foraois, August 2021 – click any image for full size
I received a special invitation from Nessa Nova and Natalie Starlight to pay a visit to the latest iterations of their Lost Unicorn estate, which officially open at 12:00 noon SLT on Saturday, August 7th. As a long-term admirer of their work, which I’ve blogged about numerous times in these pages, it was an invitation I was only too happy to accept.
As this is a preview piece, this article is going to be a little different to my usual travelogues, as rather than offer something of a walk through of the settings, I want to talk about the atmosphere that Ness and Natalie create within their region designs, and why I find their work so attractive and memorable. I’ll also note that that while both regions offer dedicated EEP settings, the images you see here have been taken with one of my personal EEP Fixed Sky settings, as I wanted to offer more of a personal take on the regions and their mysticism – so please make sure you have your viewer set to Use Shared Environment (World → Environment) when you visit.
Finian’s Foraois, August 2021
The Lost Unicorn estate has long been the home of the Lost Unicorn Gallery. Traditionally housed within a great castle watched over by the gigantic form of a dragon and seated upon its own island, the gallery has been home to some of the finest fantasy art, both mixed media and produced from images captured entirely in-world, that Second Life has to offer by some of the platform’s greatest talents.
With this iteration, the gallery retains its castle setting, but with a new building design that conjoins the main region thanks to a narrow stone causeway. The off-region surround that cups the the main Lost Unicorn region and which blends with it to the west and north, also extends south and west, giving the impression that the gallery and castle sit along the sweeping curve of a distant land’s mountainous stretch of coast.
The castle is a stunning structure, one of the most unique in terms of the blending of styles that I’ve seen in-world. Great elven arches combine with burnished minarets as water tumbles from high platforms to form curtains along straight and curved walls of stone within which galleried halls rise one another the other, and doorways unexpectedly open onto open-roofed courtyards and gardens or rooms where skylights allow sunlight to wash walls and floors.
Crowned by a building that combines the looks of a medieval cathedral with a distinctly elven tone as it sits on a saddle of rock, the entire gallery structure is utterly enchanting for its sheer beauty, the art it contains, and the unexpected little spaces that await discovery – such as the jazz venue and the Storybook Nook.
The Jazz venue is something I didn’t expect to come across. Presided over by Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, it is not a place one might readily associate with a fantasy realm – and yet it works, presents another unique tale to the gallery’s ever-growing story. Soimilarly, the Storybook Nook presents a cascade of memories for those who visited Nessa and Natalie’s former region of Storybook Forest.
Lost Unicorn Gallery, August 2021
Down the steps from the landing point, the causeway to the main region – now called Finian’s Foraois (Celtic for “forest”) – adds a touch of Tolkien to the mix, guarded as it is by the Argonath, the great carven statues of Isildur and Anárion. Here, rather than guard the passage of the Great River Anduin as it flows into Gondor, they bracket the entrance to the forest.
Passing through the arch – and crossing into the estate’s Full region – was for me akin to stepping into Middle Earth. Not just because of the presence of the Argonath, but because the forest beyond the rocky veil that sits between the two regions brought to mind thought so Greenwood the Great before darkness fell across it, and a time when the paths beneath its great canopy echoed to to happy laughter of Sindarin elves and men and dwarves could find safe passage through the wood. A time long before it became the brooding shadow known as Mirkwood – although look closely in places, an you will see possible portents of the darkness to come, as baleful eyes here and there appear from within the foliage, glare for a moment and then fade away.
Finian’s Foraois, August 2021
Here, under the shade of the giant trees, paths meander and streams bubble. Deer and rabbit, otter and bear are to be found roaming, and the very air seems heady and light as mist curls and sunlight filters across paths or fills glades with light.
But it is not only a sense of Second Age Middle Earth to be found here, and many influences await those who wander.
Finian’s Foraois, August 2021
There is the little market on the hilltop for example – might it be found in Middle Earth or Middle England at the time of the Knights of the Round Table or of Robin Hood? And then there is the brooding bulk of the second castle, cold stone and heavy walls a world away from those of the gallery castle, and within it more touches of Arthurian legend and the romanticism brought forth by the likes of Thomas Mallory and his Le Morte d’Arthur.
Then there are the garden spots and glades with their own settings. places watched by unicorns and set of afternoon tea. But who are to be the guests? Inhabitants of Lewis Carroll’s world, perhaps, so some others?
Lost Unicorn Gallery, August 2021
This is the magic of Lost Unicorn, a magic that filters through each and every design Natalie and Nessa present. It encourages the imagination to soar unfettered, nudged by all that we see, large and small – as with the eyes noted above. Within it, those who have visited past designs will find threads of their presence – from story books to Celtic tales and medieval myths, all of which cast the mind by to lost Unicorns of the past. At the same time, the settings offer something entirely new place with stories as yet unwritten, where the echoes of elves and knights comfortably rub shoulders with the spirit of the Great American Songbook whilst looking into the eyes of Marilyn Monroe without any hint of jarring juxtaposition or misplaced design.
Thus, the Lost Unicorn estate remains, as always, a place to be savoured as much as explored – and needless to say, rich with opportunities for photography as well as for creating stories abound throughout. Yes, there is a lot for the viewer to handle if you run with shadows enabled, but the effort is more than worthwhile, as you will be rewarded by an immersive trip into a realm of fantasy and legend that is genuinely unique.
At the start of the week, I visited Sybil, one of two new installations by Giovanna Cerise that opened at the end of July 2021. In my review of that installation (see: Giovanna’s Sybil in Second Life), I noted that I would also be visiting her other installation as well (which actually opened the same day) – although time and circumstance has meant I’m actually getting to it later than I’d anticipated when writing about Sybil!
Doll’s House is one of several exhibitions to have opened recently at Aneli Abeyante’s La Maison d’Aneli complex in Second Life, and it is once again a signature piece by Giovanna, being both layered and tonal, presenting the visitor with what at first seems to be merely a room of sculptures, but which actually encourages us to think about what we’re seeing on a number of levels.
The room is clearly the Doll’s House of the title, and the sculptures – 3D renderings on humans caught in various situations / poses – the “dolls” within it. However, they are not rendered as dolls; rather they appear an monofilament meshes, their vertices and triangles all visible as they sit, lie, stand, balance precariously, the majority juggling or playing balancing tricks with one or more mesh balls.
Monochrome in nature – black vertices and white mesh faces, set within a monochrome house, the black, grey and white here and there broken by lines, dots and dashes of red and a single 2D red silhouette – the installation may at first appear to be random and without expression. However, this is far from the case.
La Maison d’Aneli: Giovanna Cerise – Doll’s House
Set on the walls of the lobby area just outside the installation, is large red sign with the invitation Touch for a Notecard. Doing so will present you with Giovanna’s thoughts on Doll’s House, which reveal it is an exercise in consideration:
House doll game irony objective balance precariousness obsession multitasking ephemeral presence absence alienation homologation fashion perfection risk superficiality smoothness narcissism socialization expression angle omnipresence ego story truth lie form oppression annihilation distortion violence choice impossible possible freedom slavery….
These are some of the words that came to mind while I was building, looking, modifying Doll’s House . My invitation [to you] is to leave a word on a notecard that you could then put in the lens. The word can be chosen from those that I have listed or linked to it or the one that comes to mind, freely, after viewing the installation.
The words you will leave will be the starting point for the development of a multifaceted artistic project that will create chains, intersections, overlaps, emotions, suggestions, visions, reflections. Thanks everyone for participating.
– Giovanna Cerise
Thus, Doll’s House might be seen as a means of opening the door for ideas that might be employed in an upcoming installation Giovanna is planning; an exercise in word-play, the characters within the house intended to spark our thinking. But might there be something more?
To me, the answer is clearly “yes” – although in saying so, I don’t want to sway people into feeling their thoughts and words must be trammelled by what I have to say here; those who wish to share in Giovanna’s work might therefore be best served by going to La Maison d’Aneli to witness and respond to it without the excess baggage of my own cogitations, and perhaps come back to this piece after doing so.
La Maison d’Aneli: Giovanna Cerise – Doll’s House
So, with that said, and my warning hopefully heeded, I’ll state that I could not help but find Giovanna’s list of words to be a reflection of life – both in the physical sense and the virtual. Each one can easily be applied to our moods, situations, circumstances, relationships, real and virtual, singular and collective, so much so that the list, wrapped as it is within Doll’s House, becomes a prompt for considered introspection on Life The Universe and Everything (but mostly life), the “dolls” of the piece the cues for us to consider who we are what we do, how we face situations, respond to the physical and mental condition / situation of those around us.
In presenting the figures in a mesh-like form, Giovanna seems to be encouraging us to consider these thoughts not just as they affect us in the physical world, but how we carry them – whether we accept this or not – with us into the virtual. Because at the end of the day, aren’t virtual environments like Second Life the ultimate doll’s house? Places where we can play dress-up, and make-believe, become what we wish – yet always carry with us that central essence of who we are? Are the not also a microcosm of life itself, in that howsoever we opt to utilise that trait we call “free will” does carry consequences, personal and potentially collective.
La Maison d’Aneli: Giovanna Cerise – Doll’s House
If one accepts this viewpoint, then might it not be fair to say that as well as an invitation to participate, Doll’s House is also presenting us with a very subtle mirrored glass rather than a simple lens; one that allows us to peek into Giovanna’s creativity whilst also seeing into our our lives and actions?
I’ll say nothing more, having possibly belaboured the point; but I do urge you to witness and consider Doll’s House for yourself, and for you to leave a word for Giovanna. Just take the teleporter from the gallery’s main landing point.
Binemust: The Platform, August 2021 – Click and image for full size
Biné Rodenberger has once again been busy with her home region of Binemust, building a new space for people to explore. Whilst the ground level retains the layout based on the Bungenäs region of Gotland, Sweden’s largest island – and which I visited last September – the winter sky platform that was present at the end of 2020 (see here for more) has been replaced by a setting that offers a mix of of dystopia, sci-fi and fantasy, all sitting with a landscape that has a touch of an alien feel to it.
A strange and barren place where no plant can grow, but where people of all shapes and sizes can enjoy art, culture and good take-away.
Biné Rodenberger, describing her new Binemust sky platform
Binemust: The Platform, August 2021
Enclosed within a mountainous surround that in places blends with the region to give an almost Grand Canyon-ish feel, the setting can be divided into a number of areas that are both separate to one another and flow together as a complete scene. The largest two of these is the ruins of a town perched on the edge of the canyon’s wall to the south of the setting. Beyond this to the north lies a raised table of rock encrusted with black crystal-like rocks that form an uneven blanket.
Casting a shadow over part of the latter is the strangest of structures: a large platform that appears to be resting on the plateau courtesy of a massive column-like foot. “Appears” because multiple motors arrayed along its underside turn four-bladed propellers look like they are giving the platform stability and actually supporting some of its mass. Perhaps they might be intended to even lift it up into the air…
Binemust: The Platform, August 2021
The landing point for the setting sits between the crystal field and the slope that drops down to the ruined township, a set of open gates set into the long wall that divides town from plateau inviting arrivals to descend the slope and explore what lays beyond the wall. Similarly, a narrow path free of crystals runs along the top of the slope to reach the foot of the strange platform.
Looking like it has been cobbled together over time, the platform offers a conglomeration of living space, commercial area, and what might be working spaces. A chain of floating crystals surround it in three sides, rising step-like around it. A bright arc of energy passes from one to the next to reach one floating directly over the platform’s highest roof, as if it is drawing power from the plain of dark crystals below. A buggy and wreck of a car sit on a deck to one side of the platform, with no discernible way of being removed, whilst on another deck sits a literal flying boat.
Binemust: The Platform, August 2021
Below the platform, the remnants of the city clearly point to it have suffered some kind of apocalypse, but whether this is natural or the result of something like a war is impossible to tell. The wall that divides it from the rest of the landscape looks to be somewhat more recent that parts of the town, suggesting it is a more recent and possibly defensive addition.
Similarly, the relationship between the platform and the city is unclear, although the commonality of languages (English and Japanese) visible in both suggests they might be related. Perhaps the platform has been built by the inhabitants of the town; but if so, what is its ultimate purpose? If not, is it a wandering visitor, here to replenish supplies and gather energy? The story behind both is left entirely up to visitors to write.
Binemust: The Platform, August 2021
Beyond both of these locations to the north of the crystal field is another modern structure in the form of what looks to be communications centre that like the town has weathered hard times, Also to the north is an ancient henge that gives a further fantasy twist to the setting. Oval in shape, the latter is dominated by the living skeleton of a great dragon. Possibly becalmed by a ghostly voice that sings quietly, the dragon sits within the stone arches like Viserion raised by the Night King, but with his flesh and sinews, organs and muscles, all long lost to the passage of time to leave only his great bones as he flexes his wings and periodically rises from his haunches to survey the landscape around him.
Pet, guardian or predator, the role of the dragon is also unclear, its story again left to visitors to tell for themselves. Perhaps it is simply part of the artistic element to the setting – more art (notably by Bryn Oh) can also be found at various points in the town. However, the presence of the henge in which it sits does nicely brackets the rest of the setting with a sense of history, being mirrored to the south and within the water of the canyon by another ancient element: the wreck of a Viking long ship, the familiar signature piece Biné always includes in her builds as a mark of her heritage.
Binemust: The Platform, August 2021
As always with Biné’s designs, the setting is rich in detail, the sound scape offer additional, at times almost haunting, depth, with numerous opportunities for photography waiting to be found.
Zenescope Metaverse – now open in Second Life (image unretouched)
I was one of many who received an invitation to preview the latest partnership activity Linden Lab has entered into as then seek to encourage new audiences into Second Life. Officially opened from 08:00 on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021, The Zenescope Metaverse is the second such experience to open within Second Life recently, the other having been the (relatively low-key) opening of Film Threat, details of which are available within the Destination Guide.
Zenescope Metaverse has been developed in partnership with Zenescope Entertainment Inc., a comic book and graphic novel publisher perhaps best known for series such as Grimm Fairy Tales and its off-shoots, which recount classic fairy tales and gives them a modern twist; the Wonderland series (off-shoots of Lewis Carroll’s books); novels focused on the likes of Van Helsing (which inspired the TV series of the same name), and others, and a range of comics / graphic novels spun-off from a range of film and TV series such as Final Destination, Se7en, Charmed, and Vikings, and more.
All of which would suggest there’s some potentially tasty meat in which fingers, claws, mandibles, etc., can be dug, to provide a tasty filling of fun and Second Life. Or so you’d think – but let’s come back to that in a moment.
As with the Film Threat experience, the requested way for people to get to the Zenescope Metaverse region(s – there are four at present, plus a fifth the appears reserved for “VIPs”) is via a dedicated Zenescope Portal (In fact the two portal areas are practically clones of one another). I’ve no idea if Zenescope themselves will be providing a gateway into Second Life from their own website (or at least to the dedicated SL Landing Page, but the portal area includes a couple of video stations that will play Strawberry Linden’s How to Get Started in Second Life video. These bracket the main experience portal, which visitors are invited to walk through to be delivered to one of the Metaverse Experience regions proper.
These regions are – as you would expect – all identical to one another. They are built around a central plaza space, which at the time of my visit was set out for what I assume might be some kind of opening event. Flanking this one two sides are Zenescope merchandise stores offering a mixed of clothing, character outfits, branded t-shirts, avatar accessories and décor items in a pair of shops (duplicated on either side of the square). Beyond the square, through an archway is a large mansion that appears to hold promise, but outside of “hiding” a quest token, is actually “for another time”.
The quest itself is HUD-based, with the Hub close to the landing point providing the basics and the HUD itself. The idea here is to gather token that will allow your to continue on through to “Chapter 2” of the experience – this region being “Chapter 1”. Around the rest of the region are locations apparently lifted from various Zenescope series – such as a ruined temple, Rockman’s Fast Food joint, an animated Jabberwocky, etc., which are included in the quest, together with a game of miniature golf and a trip through a maze.
Zenescope Metaverse: a not-so-subtle hint to touch the bunnehs!
There are also freebies to be had for those that mouse around – some obvious, some not so (e.g. the duck you “follow” through the maze, and which sits on the far side. There’s also at least one diversion to another setting, and a couple of points that – like the mansion – are apparently “for future use”, with the Zenescope folk promising “tons of new stuff over the next few months”. And it is with this that I had some problems.
A promise of things to come is always good – but it is the here and now that most people are concerned with; and in this regard, I have to say that exploring the environment as it currently is, left me entirely underwhelmed. OK, so I’m a long-term SL user, so something like this is bound to have a “been there, done that” feel to it. But even trying to put myself in the mindset of an incoming new user familiar with Zenescope and attracted by something “new” to the brand, what is presented here feels empty, and far from the promise of the promo video (embedded at the end of this piece).
Zenescope Metaverse: did I drink from the bottle, or slip into fee-fih-foh-fum land?
Zenescope clearly has a richness of narrative that could so easily be mined: Grimm, Van Helsing, et al. But outside of the merchandise and a handful of static places in the region, it’s not unfair to say next to none of this is present here. Even the quest comes over as a damp squib: gather you tokens, find the portal to “Chapter 2”, and then discover its promise is – wait for it – “Coming Soon”. Bleah.
And while there is a “reward” for gathering all the tokens, the fact that it is a folder of very mildly amusing signs an avatar can hold isn’t really that rewarding – or really related to anything Zenescope (although they could obviously find use elsewhere). But why not a Zenescope t-shirt or some other trinket of merchandise as well?
Now, in fairness, the set-up could be the result of constraints placed on LL by Zenescope Entertainment. In which case, they are more the fools; because in trying to wear the hat of a Zenescope reader, I have to say that were I entering a 3D world that promises the chance to explore the places I’ve read about, experience becoming a character I love – then frankly, this experience really doesn’t cut it at present. Even the region’s EEP settings (apparently chosen so as not to over-tax incoming users’ machines) is, frankly, bland. Why not something just slightly darker or unusual?
Zenescope Metaverse: the (largely) “for another time” mansion
Of course, some of this may come with “Chapter 2” and beyond. Again, fair enough; but while hanging everything with comments that it is “for another time” and “Coming Soon” might well be a way for Zenescope to test the water, it also runs the risk of invoking a “meh” reaction in their readers and – equally importantly – if they want to attract established SL users to their brand, then that “meh” reaction risks being repeated – as a non-Zenescope reader, I admit I was hardly rushing to find out more about them. Which perhaps isn’t the best of results, either way.
This is made all the more unfortunate, because elsewhere LL have gone the extra mile: there is the dedicated Zenescope Second Life Landing Page mentioned earlier, supported by a dedicated Welcome to the Zenescope Metatverse Second Life community page that is clearly geared towards those coming into SL for the first time. All of which might come to be an under-utilised effort.
But that is just my view; and God knows, I’ve been wrong before! 🙂 . In the meantime, the Zenescope Metaverse is now open, so you can drop in and take a look for yourself, and I’ll just leave you with the promo video.
I have long been an admirer of the work of Giovanna Cerise, a 3D artist with a remarkable talent for creating both individual pieces and entire installations that are evocative, rich in narrative and which are often founded upon or intertwine (or both) themes, narratives and ideas from the physical world to present them through the lens of her imagination.
Absent for a time from Second Life, Giovanna made her return in 2020, and since then has been working on a number of projects – both new and retrospective. Two of these projects opened on July 31st, 2021, and this being the case I make no apologies for this being the first of two articles covering her work that will be appearing in these pages over the next two days.
Sybil, presented at Museum Island, offers Giovanna’s interpretation of the Cumaean Sibyl (“prophetess”), who was said to reside near Cumae, the first Greek colony to be founded on the Italian mainland (and now found within the city of Naples). Her legend became a focus of early Roman history thanks to the writings of Virgil (via his Aeneid VI), Ovid (in his Metamorphoses) and others.
Museum Island: Giovanna Cerise – Sybil
In particular, Virgil’s tales of the Sybil (together with an anonymous author) refer to her living within an unusual cave, a trapezoidal passage over 130 metres in length cut into a hill, ending in a chamber. Here, according to Virgil, she would prophesise by “singing the fates”, then write the results on oak leaves, which she would leave at the entrance to the cave. It is this cave – or passage – which forms the core of Giovanna’s Sybil, its entrance forming the landing point, where can be found a brief introduction.
Red figures line the tunnel, mostly likely those seeking insight into their lives and future through the words of the Sybil, whilst at its centre, she awaits in her chamber, ready to offer you her cryptic advice – but be warned: the Sybil of Cumae was famous for her prophesies often having two meanings, depending on how one chose to read them…
Museum Island: Giovanna Cerise – Sybil
Across the aisle from the crypt, is a statue of the Sybil, a somewhat ghostly form – reflective, perhaps on Ovid’s tale of her fate following her trickery with Apollo (and his with her). In return for allowing him to take her virginity, she asked him to grant her as long a life as the number of sand grains she could hold in one hand – only to then deny him once the wish was granted. Apollo, on the other hand, whilst granting her extraordinary longevity, did not also give her matching youth and health – because she did not ask for either. Thus, over time she aged, withered and faded, becoming a shadow, a voice in the darkness.
Along the hall containing the shadow sculpture of the Sybil are further pieces that both directly reference the Cumaean Sibyl – Enigma, referencing the duality of her words – and indirectly – Consumption, perhaps referencing the fact that we are all eventually consumed by the passage of time, just as the Sybil was in Ovid’s tale, and Illusion, which appears to reference the illusion of time’s own permanence. Then there is Lovers, perhaps representing the preciousness of life itself, and in taking what we are offered rather than losing it or wanting something more.
Museum Island: Giovanna Cerise – Sybil
Fascinating, rich in meaning and visual, Sybil is another engaging trip into legends and tales by an artist who is superb in her ability to interpret and present.
