Category: Reviews

Grauland in December in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Grauland, December 2020 – click any image for full size

To take a break from scenes of snow and winter, we decided to head over to Grauland and see what region holder JimGarand had put together for December – and as always, we weren’t disappointed with what we found.

Over the years, Jim has never ceased to attract us – and many other visitors – with a series of unique region designs that never fail to offer something new and different, whilst also offering touches that persist between designs to present a sense of continuation from one design to the next.

Grauland, December 2020

With this iteration of the region, that continuance can be found through the maze of rooms and half-rooms last seen in the region’s summer looks, and the ranks of concrete blocks that have appeared in a number of the region’s designs.

The maze of rooms is the first element of the design to be encountered from the landing point, which sits on a pier head that thrusts out into the waters on the west side of the region, a crossed archway forming the walk from the pier head and the maze.

Grauland, December 2020

Beyond the rooms a series of broken walls form a zig-zag walk for those who fancy it – or visitors can go around this to the north, where they’ll encounter a pattern of “portal blocks” – hollow concrete blocks with circular holes in their six sides, inviting people to walk through them, or head southwards where, a little further inland, stands the rows of concrete blocks, standing close to where steps have been cut into the bare rock of an upland table of rock.

These steps lead up to a most unusual tower that rises from a rough table of rock. apparently made of concrete it raises a single square finger into the air which splits at its top into four arms, each forming an individual room leading off of the central stairwell. As a home, it offers a most unique residence – allowing for its outwardly industrial  look. However, here the structure is used as something of an artistic statement – art also being a common theme running through Grauland designs. Each room presents an individual décor from rings of multiple televisions through if not Santa’s grotto, then certain his hi-rise retreat, to a balloon-lovers paradise and a lounge where talking about the elephant in the room is unavoidable.

Grauland, December 2020

The tower is not the only structure on the island. Diagonally opposite it to the north-east and also sitting atop a large plateau, is another concrete building. Octagonal in shape, it appears to have a steeply-sloping, sectionalised roof. It is only on reaching it and taking the tunnel and stairs up into it, can it be seen that the building is actually open to the sky above – although what purpose it might be put to – gallery, event centre or even landing pad for some form of space vehicle – is entirely up to the imagination.

Directly south of of this, and also facing the tower is a large studio house with sunken gardens and swimming pool. The  courtyard around the pool offers both places to sit and sculptures to be appreciated. A small club house is to one side of the courtyard,  a hot tub alongside it, while a A single passage runs directly east to the water’s edge, flanked by further sci-fi elements in the form of strange pods  that offer little studio rooms where visitors can relax.

Grauland, December 2020

Finished in concrete and stone blocks. and with its outside metal stairways, the studio house continues the industrial theme of the setting, but offers comfortable furnishings within, its southern aspect overlooking a small wild flower garden sitting of a shelf of rock between house and sea.

With boats at the landing point, a little an aged and damaged garden shed sitting to the north-west offering a further unusual hideaway, and seating offered throughout, Grauland invites explorers to wander inland and around its rough coastline (rocky outcrops and cliffs allowing, while its low-laying inland mix of blocks, walls (straight and sinuous) offers an artistic statement in its own right.

Grauland, December 2020

Thus, this iteration of Grauland continues the region’s reputation for being an engaging, curious and photogenic visit for all who appreciate exploring Second Life.

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Snow white days at Jacob in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Jacob, December 2020 – click any image for full size

At the start of December, Shawn Shakespeare reminded me that it’s been a good few years since I’ve written about the End of Time estate, and suggested taking another look at Jacob, one of the regions within the estate, and which has traditionally stood a little aside from the rest of the regions there in terms of looks and presentation.

Currently, the region sits as a winter setting,  designed by Holly Texan (Dacotah Longfall) that is both simple and effective – particularly if you enjoy long, bracing walks through a snowy landscape, hearing the crunch of fresh snow beneath your feet and feeling the crispness of cold air in your sinuses. It’s a setting that is ideal for photographers and rich in subtle details.

Jacob, December 2020

The landing point is tucked into the north-west corner of the region, within sight of the some of the other regions in the estate, the water channel between them and Jacob apparently frozen. A welcome sign informs arrivals that clothing is optional – although skipping through the snow sans boots and clothes is not my idea of a fun afternoon, so was decidedly with clothes during my visit 🙂 .

The snow leading away from the sign is rutted with tyre tracks that run between fencing that marks out individual fields on either side, before the southern side of the road opens out to an ice-covered lake. Passing over a covered bridge, the tracks point straight and true to a farmhouse on the east side of the region. A second set of tracks points northwards, perpendicular to those running across the front of the farmhouse, and lead the way to a large barn where best wishes for the US Thanksgiving holiday and the Christmas holiday season are offered to all who visit the region.

Jacob, December 2020

A flat landscape, the region is home to the fields mentioned above, where horses and deer wander and attempt to graze on the grass sitting under the carpet of snow. Copses of trees are scattered across the land, whilst to the south-west, an old steam locomotive is huffing its way along tracks that curve across that corner of the region.

The touches of detail can be found in the way that the deer and horses have left their own footprints in the snow – so often in winter regions, animals appear to be able to move across a landscape heavy with snow without ever seeming to break the virgin surface (although admittedly, there are elk that also appear able to do so!). Similarly, the grounds of the house show signs of human handiwork not just in the presence of snowmen, but in the footprints criss-crossing the snow, suggesting the industrious hands that have made them.

Jacob, December 2020

As a Calvin and Hobbs fan (and who among us, having read Bill Watterson’s  tales of a young boy and his stuffed tiger isn’t?), I couldn’t find the snowmen in the grounds of the farmhouse mindful of Calvin’s antics: one apparently up to his neck in “quicksand” (although he doesn’t seem unhappy about that), and the other having lost his head, which lies with a broken nose on the snowy ground. Whether or not both are intended to evoke Calvin’s approach to snowman making, I’ve no idea, but I like to think of them in that way, adding as it does a sense of fun to the setting.

For those who need them, rezzing rights can be obtained by joining the End of Time group – but if you do rez props, etc., for photography or anything else, please remember to pick things up behind you.

Jacob, December 2020

Easy on the eye and on the viewer, Jacob remains a light, engaging visit.

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Tresore’s Impressions in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Raging Graphix Gallery: Tresore

Now open as the end-of-year exhibit at Raging Graphix Gallery, curated by Raging Bellls, is Impressions, a selection of pieces by Tresore Prada Hawkins (Tresore).

I first became familiar with Tresore’s images through her involvement in the Phoenix Artists Collaboration, and admit to being attracted to her work, which mixes both landscape pieces and avatar studies – the latter in particular always framing a narrative or message.

Presenting some seventeen images, Impressions follows through on its title in a number of ways,all of which combine to capture and hold the observer’s attention. First, they are obviously statements of the impression Second Life has on Tresore as both an observer of the virtual world and as an artist; they allow us to see the things that have attracted her eye and caused her to create a memory of them. Secondly, they allow her to offer a story for any of the given scenes she has captured, either directly through the image itself or through the suggestive nudge of the title to a piece; so they might be said  to offer us an impression of both setting and the artist as a storyteller

Raging Graphix Gallery: Tresore

On a third level, they offer us an impression of how Tresore views the changing seasons of the year, with the selection of pieces, whether through their depth of colour or through other hints, offering us glimpses of summer, autumn (and harvest) and – most notably – winter (and the holiday season). Finally, and most importantly, there is within each an every piece, an impression of mood / emotion / feeling that reaches out to make each of us not just a witness to Tresore’s art, but also a part of the story waiting to be found within each image.

I say “most importantly”, because while many photographers are taken by a scene, finding its evocative nature as a door to them framing a narrative or to presenting a mood or feeling within a stated pose  / presentation, Tresore is one who starts with the idea of what she’d like to say, and work from there, as she explains:

I have found in SL photography a perfect outlet, as it allows to create from scratch what I want to say. I can take up to one week to create one of my pictures. I carefully research the clothing, colours I want to use, objects, scenario, pose.  I Search for the region that suits it best and the light that will create the feeling I am looking for. There is quite a great deal of love, work and time behind each of my images.

Tresore Prada on her art

Raging Graphix Gallery: Tresore

This again gives her images an added depth, further attracting our eye and mind to each piece, and adding an additional attraction to any visit to Impressions.

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Cica and Bryn’s White Veil in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
White Veil, December 2020 – snowballs are a rollin’,rollin’, rollin’

Cica Ghost and Bryn Oh have once again teamed up to provide a little  light-hearted winter fun for those who feel like a little bit of a challenge with some avatar exercise.

White Veil, located on a snow-covered Homestead region under the patronage of Clementine Rosca, challenges visitors to make their way over wooden boards to a snowy valley between high peaks that winds up to where a strange tower twists its way up into the sky – and then climb the curving ramp of  said tower to reach the room at the top.

White Veil, December 2020 – will the magnets help or hinder you?

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? And it is – except for the gigantic snowballs that periodically rain from the sky to roll at random down the valley to sweep-up all that lies in their path. They are invariably followed by one true monster of a snowball that rumbles down the tower’s ramp to join its smaller brethren as they tumble down the valley.

Should you get caught by any of these great balls of snow, then you’re toast – or at least, you’re teleported back to the start line to try again. Nor are the snowballs alone in trying to hinder you. There are also white blocks lie  scattered around which, if you get too close will attempt to bounce you in the air, whilst blue bullets may be pelted at you from the tower’s open walls to try to delay you.

White Veil, December 2020, – meet the penguins

But, there is also assistance to be had. Scattered along the path are blue disks. Step on one and you’ll be enclosed in your own personal force-field for a time, impervious to snowballs blocks and bullets – just keep moving with the force field in order for it to benefit you the most. Magnets hanging over the curving ramp of the tower might also assist you by dragging you to them, and so up the slope – but they also might hinder, as once caught by one, it can be difficult to get free!

Nor is this all; while the goal is to reach the room at the top of the tower and witness the strangely garbed individual awaiting you there, so to are there opportunities to leave the valley and explore the lands beyond, occupied as they are by groups of Cica’s penguins, whilst pieces of Bryn’s art might also distract you.  Also to be found at the tower’s top is a narrow, snow-covered walkway leading to a flying chair; use the arrow and page Up / Down keys to manoeuvre it once seated.  A second narrow snowy walk can take you to a lonely television, whilst keeping an eye out for snow white pose balls might get you literally climbing the walls.

White Veil, December 2020 – having reached the top of the tower, I opted to take the flying chair back down, avoiding the snowballs

To experience the fun of White Veil, simply teleport over and then accept the experience associated with it (if you are a regular visitor at Bryn’s Immersiva, and have accepted the experience there, then you are actually all set). When you’ve done so, note the instruction about using Always Run (CTRL-R – although in places you might want to toggle it on / off. And for an added bit of fun, you could also try your hand at decoding the message in the region’s About Land description. It’s not hard, but all I’ll  say here is that it gives warning about the state of mind of certain flightless waterfowl …

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A Silent Night in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Silent Night, December 2020 – click any image for full size

Early in December, Caitlyn and I visited Silent Night, a Homestead region design by Nessa  Nova of Lost Unicorn fame. As you might expect given the region’s name, it is a winter / Christmas setting – one that is eye-catching in the simplicity of its setting, carrying a natural beauty together with little touches of detail and humour than encourage visitors to explore.

Ringed by mountains, the region sits under a starlit sky across which the ribbon of the Milky Way has been thrown, a bridge of light and colour that spans the gap between two peaks, a gibbous Moon peeping at it from over the shoulder of another high mountain.

Silent Night, December 2020

Heavy in snow, the mountains shield the land from the rest of the world, a spur line of a railway cutting through the roots of the high peaks to bring a steam train hissing into the local station, the tunnel through which it has travelled seeming the one link between this place and the world at large. However, the train coming into the station is no ordinary service; it appears to be powered by the magic of the season: its coal tender empty of everything other than toys, presents and a Christmas tree glowing with lights.

The station is the region’s landing point, and from here, across the end of the line, a path winds past Babba’s Café where a hot drink can be enjoyed should the snow prove a little too much – and snow there is aplenty across the region. It  lies deep on the ground, has frosted the trees, and sits upon roofs and on benches as it falls softly from the sky.

Silent Night, December 2020

Beyond the end of the path, rutted tracks cut through the snow, marking routes that might be explored, whilst the heart of the region is given over to frozen lake where skating might be enjoyed around a tall, decorated tree at its centre, holding aloft a shining star.

The frozen lake is not the only place for skating, however. A Short walk across the snow from the café is a more formal rink, festooned with lights of its own, a snowman waiting to greet visitors and offer them skates.

Silent Night, December 2020

Elsewhere, a winding track runs back from one of the two piers that stretch out into the frozen waters of the Lake. It curls  through woodlands, passing under the high arch of rock curving out from the arms of a mountain, to lead the way to a cosy cottage to the north-east of the land.

To the south of the lake, a tongue of snow-covered land extends out into the frozen water. It shelters a heart-shaped tree guarded by a peacock and rabbits, where a fairy is waiting to offer couples the opportunity to dance. The path to it passes around the west side of the lake, offering the chance to visit a carousel and a little camp fire (one of three waiting to be found), whilst another little café offers food and drink.

Silent Night, December 2020

Simple in presentation, rich in contents – not everything is described here – and ideal for photography and winter romance, Silent Night is an engaging and attractive visit.

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Sensation & Perception in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – Sensation and Perception, Monique Beebe, December 2020

Monique Beebe returns to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas for the gallery’s final exhibition of 2020, entitled Sensation & Perception.

Monique – Moni to her friends – is one of my favourite artists when it comes to narrative avatar studies;  her work is richly evocative, sometimes provocative, and always fascinating to read and admire. Such is the richness of her work, Moni has been a semi-regular at Nitroglobus over the last few years, and it is always a pleasure to see her work there. However, for this exhibition, she presents something a little bit different; a series of images that challenge her and those of us who view them, as she explains:

The aesthetic experience is more a matter of emotion and feeling (sensation) than of the subjective image which we create in our heads of what we see (perception). In other words you can be ‘touched’ by an image, a feeling you have, before you interpret the story shown on the image …
In that same way this exhibition Sensation & Perception is made. It’s not like my usual artwork where I try to capture emotions in a face. This time I moved outside of my comfort zone to create art that I leave to the observer to respond to through their own sensations and perceptions.

– Monique Beebe on Sensation and Perception

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – Sensation and Perception, Monique Beebe, December 2020

The result is a series of avatar studies, some of which might be considered not suitable for work (NSFW), others of which are richly layer via post-processing to offer a finish that is very different to many of Moni’s previous works, and which by doing so, particularly evoke sensations on a physical level as well as visuals by suggesting we might actually run fingers over their uneven surfaces in order to appreciate them through our sense of touch.

As per the title of the exhibition, all of the pieces presented generate an initial response that is guided by our senses – that initial wash of emotional response that may see us drawn to one image whilst perhaps stepping back from another. But so too, they challenge us to look again, to view them more deeply, and allow our perception to see past our initial reactions and let each piece tell its story as we study it more deeply. Again, as Moni notes:

Everybody has a different sense or perception: for instance when we see an image of a face with wrinkles we can get touched by the emotion of that face and we automatically assume it is an old person we see. But maybe we also see something different in it, like a person who went trough a lot, who suffered and/or lived in pitiful circumstances.

– Monique Beebe on Sensation and Perception

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – Sensation and Perception, Monique Beebe, December 2020

This makes Sensation & Perception one of the most engaging exhibitions by an artist who has a deserved reputation for producing art that engages the eye and mind.

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