Category: Reviews

The Uprooted in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Sim Quarterly: Le Déraciné

Open as of June 14th, 2020 at The Sim Quarterly is Le Déraciné (The Uprooted), an installation by JadeYu Fhang.

Described as being a study about “How to transform the pain of uprooting into a poetic vision”, it’s a typically layered and semi-interactive piece by JadeYu; one that invites interpretation more than it offers one for itself.  Also, and in keeping with YadeYu’s viewpoint, it is a piece that perhaps blurs the line between the physical and virtual dimensions, being present in one whilst created from the other, whilst also standing as a dream linking both.

The landing point sits above the main installation, a board presenting the required graphics settings needed to best appreciate the installation, while local sounds should also be enabled for the fullest experience. Once visitors are set, an Anywhere Door teleporter offer the way down to ground level and the installation proper.

The Sim Quarterly: Le Déraciné

Here the setting is made up of multiple parts: a central hill form which grows an enormous tree; a great vale of flowers that extends out into the water; and a village in the air, set as if floating upon wafer-thin clouds. The tree at first appears to be denuded, but slivers of green flow over the branches and wrap around the trunk, which is in part carved into a female form, while more green floats around the branches as orbs. A second figure lies in the shallows below, legs entangled into a network of roots. As well as the green on and around the tree, paths of light glimmer as they rise from the lowlands to pass over the tangle of roots that form the hill’s crown, offering a way up to the tree as then converge upon it, whilst a single path rises to the cloud village.

Throughout the setting, the motif of roots is clear: but what of the idea of being “uprooted”? Perhaps it is in relation to physical relocation: there is the village in the air and the one at the landing point – are these then symbolic of the pain of moving home? Or is the meaning more bound in matters of ecology or in the erosion of cultural identity due to the demands of an increasingly homogeneous modern world, perhaps invoked through the dancing figures?

The Sim Quarterly: Le Déraciné

As noted above, interpretation is down to the observer. What is apparent is JadeYu’s rooting in surrealism, edged with a sense of spirituality.

Open through a period of three months, Le Déraciné offers plenty of time for you to visit and consider it for yourself.

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The Truth about Trees in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Truth About Trees

Currently open at Focus Magazine is The Truth About Trees, another thought provoking exhibition by Milena Carbone. It offers something of a multi-media installation, combining images and text (accessed via links to web pages), bound together by themes of life, ecology, harmony, and nature, and carries a vein of religious metaphor.

There is a path through the exhibition that starts to the right of the entrance beyond the window with a text element, and then proceeds counter-clockwise around the walls to the exit. The opening text is that of a dialogue Milena had with a friend in Australia who witnessed the 2019 brushfire there first-hand. It serves not just as a reminder of those events, but also that the Australian brush is a part of nature; a living environment in which we either share or seek – for better or more often for worse – try to dominate.

From here the story unfolds as pairings of image and a link to a story element, each to be taken in turn. It’s a story that mixes fable, the story of creation, the balance of nature. Folded into this are cosmic themes such as our place in the universe, raised through a story around ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object to have been detected passing through our solar system.

The Truth About Trees

It’s a story that enfolds the images presented in the exhibition and reaches beyond them to pictures also found in the web pages of individual stories. In part it follows themes those who know Milena’s work will find as being familiar: questions about God, he nature of God’s existence the aforementioned issues of ecology, nature and harmony. However, these themes are not just presented through the stories – or perhaps mythology might be a better term – but also through the setting of the exhibition itself.

The latter appears as a walled garden with a central apple tree surrounded by police crime scene tape. The metaphor here is clear: the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge, the transgression against God’s will in the taking of the Apple and the fall of human kind from grace.

But here as well the metaphor in deeper than may first appear: were we really created in God’s image? If so, then were we not as flawed as God from the outset? If so, then was the crime committed by Adam and Eve not so much the eating of the apple against God’s orders, but rather God’s own failure in not making us better than just imbuing us with “his” own frailties; frailties that have prevented us living in the kind of natural harmony that has marked the rest of his creation?

The Truth About Trees

Involved, rich in detail, theme and substance, The Truth About Trees will remain open through the rest of the month.

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A voyage to Africa in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Jambo! A Voyage to Africa, May 2020 – click any image for full size

Update, August 2020: Jambo! A Voyage to Africa has been superseded by Light of the Desert. See: A Light of the Desert in Second Life.

Jambo! A Voyage to Africa is a homestead region design by Camila Runo that offers visitors – as its name suggests – a taste of Africa – most likely East Africa, given the use of Swahili; possibly Kenya or Tanzania given the coastal aspects (although admittedly, the setting could be somewhere on the coast of Lake Victoria.

A mix of savannah, woods and wetland forest, the region is rich in wildlife – monkeys, elephants, giraffe, water buffalo, gazelle, ostrich, meerkat, crocodile, lion, and hyena, together with vultures an eagle circles overhead.

Jambo! A Voyage to Africa, May 2020 – click any image for full size

The region is set to to give a good feeling of space, with a number of buildings to be found throughout. These start with what might be a Victorian era safari camp, featuring as it does a proper bed, a large dresser and even a gramophone player, sitting alongside the landing point. Just up the trail from this is a small village – albeit suggestive of one set out for the tourist trade rather than being a working place of habitation.

Jambo! A Voyage to Africa, May 2020

A broad river cuts the region in two. It is spanned by a pair of bridges to the south, while a pier with a rowing boat rezzer close to the village offers the means to cross there or explore the location by water.

It is across the the river that majority of the wildlife can be found, together with a private home  – clearly fenced of to help prevent trespass. Follow the land south on this side of the region and it will eventually lead to a large, solid building, bearing a sign that fans of American ’60s TV series might find familiar  – although there was no cross-eyed lion to be found within; just another big cat undergoing treatment.

Jambo! A Voyage to Africa, May 2020

Exploring the region on foot or – if you have one – a wearable horse – is an easy, pleasant journey, while the animals offer multiple opportunities for photography. Thus time passes easily in the region whilst seeking out opportunities for photography, although the hint of tourism in the village and the presence of the bygone era camp site give a subtle depth to the region, a reminder of Africa’s past exploitation. Fortunately, the only hunting  that can be carried out here is with the camera.

Jambo! A Voyage to Africa is a place that speaks for itself; the default environment catches it towards the end of the day, and the local sound scape supports this time of day. For the keen-eyed, there are a couple of minor anachronisms: a north American bald eagle substitutes for an African fish eagle, while a jaguar similarly substitutes for a leopard in the veterinary centre – but these are more down to the availability of wildlife in-world or on the Marketplace than anything else, and they don’t look glaringly out-of-place.

Jambo! A Voyage to Africa, May 2020

So, if wildlife photography is something you fancy or you just want a walk over the savannah, then make a point to hop over and explore – I’ll just say asante, kwaheri! (at least for now!).

With thanks to Shawn for the landmark.

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Kultivate 5th Anniversary art show in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kultivate 5th Anniversary Weekend – Vita Theas and Kapaan

Friday June 12th, 2020, marks the opening of the Kultivate’s Magazine 5th anniversary art show in Second Life, with the event running through until Sunday June 14th, inclusive, which art, music and entertainment for all who visit.

Kultivate Magazine is a publication about the cultural aspects of Second Life, its goal is to support art, culture, photography, music, and fashion. The brand includes the magazine, The Windlight Art Gallery, The Edge Gallery of Black & White Imagery, The Kultivate Loft Gallery, Signature Gallery, AIR Gallery and the Select Gallery. It addition, Kultivate Magazine is the media partner and primary sponsor of Team Diabetes of Second Life, an official and authorised fund-raising team for The American Diabetes Association.

Kultivate 5th Anniversary Weekend – 3D artists Ilyra Chardin, Cica Ghost and Venessa Jane

For the anniversary weekend, Kultivate presents a 2D and 3D art exhibition with some 31 artists participating, including: aht1981, Akiko.Tripsa, AlexAvion, Angel Heartsong, Anibrm Jung, Anouk Lefavre, archgothica, DrusillaGwind Resident, Elle Thorkveld, Francis Bagration, Hana Hoobinoo, ilyra chardin, Inara Pey, Jamee Sandalwood, Johannes Huntsman, Kapaan, Karma Weymann, KismaKSR Resident, Myra Wildmist, Reycharles Resident, Rissy Feiri, Sabine Mortenwold, Sheba Blitz, SkinTrader Greyskin, softandred, Syphera Inaka, talligurl resident, Tempest Rosca-Huntsman, Vanessajane66, Veruca Tammas, Vita theas, & wintergeist.

Obviously, with so many artists participating, the range of art on display is broad, with avatar studies, landscapes, colour images, monochrome, physical world paintings, mixed media, and more. All of the art is displayed in the open air, with the region’s default windlight providing a strong neutral background light to fully appreciate the pieces on display.

Kultivate 5th Anniversary Weekend – Jamee Sandalwood and John Huntsman

Entertainment for the weekend comprises (all times SLT):

  • Friday June 12th:
    • 16:00-17:00: live performer Nina Setner + 10 slide show frames giveaway, 1 Templar Poses poseback giveaway, & L$1,000 Trompe L’Oeil Gift Card giveaway.
    • 17:00-18:00: live performer Melenda Baptiste  + 10 slide show frames giveaway, 1 Templar Poses posepack giveaway, & L$1,000 Trompe L’Oeil Gift Card giveaway.
  • Saturday, June 13th:
    • 16:00-17:00: live performer Samuel James + 10 lucky winners of L$250 each & Templar Poses posepack giveaway.
    • 17:00-18:00: live performer Aislen Sings +10 lucky winners of L$250 each & Templar Poses posepack giveaway.
  • Sunday, June 14th:
    • 13:00-14:00: live performer Max Kleene + 1 Lumipro giveaway.

So be sure to hop along and join the celebrations and enjoy the art!

Kultivate 5th Anniversary Weekend – Reycharles

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A Dream Village in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

**[Dream]** Village, June 2020 – click any image for full size
I received a couple of suggestions from MorganaCarter and Shawn Shakespeare that we should pay a visit to Dolceluna Myoo’s Homestead region **[Dream]** Village. So off we hopped to have a look around, and found it a thoroughly delightfully visit.

The first thing to note about the region is not to let the “Village” of the title fool you; whilst buildings are to be found here, this is not in any way a village style environment; rather it is a open rural space, the buildings scattered across it with plenty of space between them to suggest an untamed place, perhaps sitting on the edge of a more developed location.

**[Dream]** Village, May 2020
The landing point sits to the south, close to a tram line that offers the suggestion that this is an end-of-the-line destination even if the region is surrounded by water. Across the tracks from the terminus is an outdoor events space alongside an old shack. From here, opportunities to explore run in multiple directions, or visitors can opt to hang out and dance on the deck.

**[Dream]** Village, May 2020
Off to the east is the first of the island’s cabins, reached by passing some of the island’s wildlife – bears and deer with seagulls flapping overhead. This is a cosy, aged placed with a makeshift terrace, and a Bohemian interior that’s inviting enough to make one of the region’s cats feel like it is missing out on the comfort, although the geese enjoying the yard outside might disagree; to them the tub of water is far more interesting!

**[Dream]** Village, May 2020
Two large bodies of water cut into the landscape from the east and west, such that the bulk of the low-lying land forms an uppercase “i” in shape.  A further single-storey sits house to the north, a small summer cabin close by. Both are again furnished and offer plenty of opportunities for photography and / or sitting with friends. Horses graze close to the summer house, offering a further reason to tarry here.

More places to sit and pass the time can be found dotted around the setting: chairs and camp sites, swings strung from the boughs of trees, an offshore deck and around the vehicles scattered across the region, such as the old VW camper wagon. For those who fancy something a little different, a hot air balloon sits over  the eastern bay.

**[Dream]** Village, May 2020
There’s a richness of detail to the setting that further brings it to life. As well as wildlife and horses mentioned above, sheep can also be found grazing in places, whilst chickens share the island with the geese. Cats are also much in evidence, some of who form an appreciative audience for one of the poses offered in the region (those wishing to use their pose systems or props van join the local group for rezzing rights).

Ideally suited to a range of environmental settings and with a lot of subtle touches and plenty of details, **[Dream]** Village makes for a visually engaging and restful visit, rich in opportunities for photography and for simple appreciating the scene.

**[Dream]** Village, May 2020

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Bellisseria’s Limoncello Art Gallery in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Limoncello Art Gallery

As I’ve noted a few times in these pages, Bellisseria, the Linden Home continent, provides space not only for people to live and form communities, but also to express themselves and the creativity present in-world and through people’s talents. One of the key ways this is done is though residents in the continent given their homes over for the display of art – their own, the pieces they’ve purchased and / or the works of others they invite to exhibit.

One of the Bellisseria galleries I’ve only recently become aware of  – and my thanks to curator Fenella Allen for IMing me – is that of Limoncello Art Gallery.

While perhaps new to Bellisseria (given the continent itself is just over a year old!), this is a gallery with a long history. Originally founded by LastDitch Writer, the gallery existed in a 120-metre long airship hovering over the Mainland region of Nanga, and was home to his personal collection of art, both 2D and 3D.

Limoncello Art Gallery

The space available at Bellisseria is obviously a lot smaller that a 120 metre airship, but Lord Junibalya, who now looks after the collection, has provided a skybox for the art that forms a 2-storey gallery with a fair amount of room for pieces to be displayed – and there is a lot to see!

There is a lean towards art from the physical world – paintings, drawings, portraits, abstracts – but Second Life avatar studies are also well represented, while the upper level floor space lends itself to 3D pieces by Toysoldier Thor and Mistero Hifeng. Other artists represented in the collection whose names are likely to be recognised include Gitu Aura, Dido Haas, Carelyna, JMB Balogh, In Inaka, Audie Whimsy, Wyald Wooley and Asmita Duranjaya, to name a handful.

Limoncello Art Gallery

Given these pieces are from a private collection, none are directly offered for sale. However it might be possible to purchase a copy of some pieces by contacting the artist directly (but please keep in mind that not all of the artists represented in the gallery may still be active in-world).

An impressive collection offering a lot to appreciate, the compact size of the parcel notwithstanding, Limoncello Art Gallery is well worth the visit for any patron of the arts in Second Life. My thanks again to Fenella for contacting me about it.

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