Kultivate Magazine Gallery: Ragingbellls (l) and Lena Kiopak (r)
Now open at the Kultivate Windlight Gallery is their first exhibition for 2020, featuring an ensemble gathering of artists.
Located on the ground floor of the gallery space the ensemble exhibition opened on Sunday, January 26th, and it features the artists Ragingbellls, John Brianna, Skye Joubert, Lena Kiopak, Sonatta Morales, Solana Python, Nils Urqhart and Myra Wildmist. Between them, they offer a mix of Second Life photography and physical world art that is richly varied in content and style.
Kultivate Windlight Gallery: Nils Urqhart (l) and John Brianna (r)
From stunning photographs of the French Alps by Nils (and which forms a nice companion series to his In the Clouds series I was able to review in November 2019), through unique painted portraits by Skye, to avatar studies by Sonatta, this is a selection of art to please all eyes.
However, when visiting I would emphasise the need to ensure you have Advanced Lighting Model (Preferences > Graphics) during a visit. This is because Myra’s single piece is another experiment in using lighting projectors. Entitled Snow Field, it’s a piece you should pan your camera across it to appreciate the the use of the projector in concert with the image of sunset.
Kultivate Windlight Gallery: Sonatta Morales
Take the stairs to the mezzanine, and – for a while longer at least at the time of writing, due to the fact I’m getting to it on the late side – is an exhibition of Kody Meyer’s photography. Covering multiple genres, and with a delight in experimenting, Kody always present pieces that are stunningly beautiful in execution.
There is something uniquely peaceful within Kody’s landscape images, and his love of exploring Second Life and capturing the locations he visits is clearly evident in his work. Similarly, his avatar studies offer a depth of narrative within each that draws one into them.
Kultivate Windlight Gallery: Kody Meyers
Kody notes of his approach:
Each picture depicts a story or is a reminder of an experience one can reflect upon when admiring it. As a perfectionist, I take the time necessary to capture the picture, experimenting with different angles, framings and windlights, until the perfect shot is created — the one that comes alive. Using different programs and techniques to create my pictures, the result is always a surprise. My goal is to portray the magic behind the raw image. To be able to contribute to peace and happiness in this world is an honour and an endless pleasure.
Kultivate Windlight Gallery: Kody Meyers
I’m not sure how much longer Kody’s work will be on offer at Kultivate – as noted, I got to the exhibition late myself – so do be sure to drop into the ground floor exhibition sooner rather than later to appreciate the work there, and then hop up the stairs to the mezzanine.
-ADreNaLin- is a relatively new region venture by Cherry Manga and JadeYu Fhang, intended to offer an “Art Place & Music Venue” with a focus on “Experimental Art – Music – Events.” It’s a multi-layered environment set within one quarter of a Full private region, offering room for art installations, a venue space and a store, all interconnected by teleport and with links to other French-related regions across the Second Life Grid (via a HUD that can be obtained from the region’s Les Explorateurs Francophones level – which can be reached from a teleport point on the parcel’s ground level).
Currently, the region is home to an installation by Cherry Manga entitled Strange Garden. It’s an ethereal, subtle setting that is evocative and layered, presenting something of a dreamscape and – possibly – reflections on self and human nature.
Cherry Manga: Strange Garden
The dream aspect of the setting is perhaps most vividly offered through the monochrome styling of the installation (the use of monochrome to portray dreams has oft been used within media, although research suggests whether we dream in monochrome or colour appears to be down to an exposure to monochrome or colour television in childhood). However, the use of monochrome might be indicative of more than just dreams, and incorporates a commentary on the mind’s state – or perhaps the artist’s thoughts -, and the fact that we so often consider matters in a binary form – or black and white.
Presented within a hemisphere, the installation is bounded by black monolith-like blocks that lean outwards like the petals of a flower, slender trees rising into a grey sky beyond them. These blocks enfold a wild landscape, home to Animesh plants that whirl, writhe and sway to an unfelt wind, like stray thoughts turning in the back of the mind. More plants rise up and remain static, as if focal points of thinking (or perhaps creativity, if we consider ourselves inside the mind of the artist), while winged figures are to be found amidst this garden – angels of brighter thoughts, perhaps, countering the darker, lower aspects of the setting that might present more dour thoughts and feelings.
Cherry Manga: Strange Garden
It’s a setting that is undeniably rich in symbolism. Within the garden can be found both Pandora’s box, and a memento mori. The latter is symbolic of the inevitability of death, offering again a suggestion of sitting within the mind and amidst reflections of self and identity (who among us has not pondered death’s ever closing hand and what might remain once it has gripped us in an inescapable grasp?). The former conjures perhaps thoughts of challenges unmet as a result of their complexity or the woes we set upon ourselves when seeking to gain greater freedom of expression through striving to create? (I would also suggest that perhaps the memento mori is a reflection of Cherry’s installation of that name that recently closed.)
This symbolism can also be found in the central “stairways” that twist in on themselves, apparently defying gravity it their suggestion one can climb up them, yet return to their base while still appearing to be climbing, almost Penrose-like. This also might be a reference to fate and the cycle of life – or equally to the font of creativity, where ideas fountain upwards, and also fall back to feed the ground from which they first rose, helping to nurture further ideas, enriching the garden, while the submerged elements could represent subconscious thoughts and processes…
Cherry Manga: Strange Garden
A genuinely immersive (apparently developed for use with VR headsets) installation with multiple opportunities for interpretation / reflection, Strange Garden makes for an engaging visit (please make sure you have local sounds enabled and use the local windlight settings.
All4Art opened its January / February 2020 exhibition on Saturday, January 25th. Featuring another ensemble of artists, the exhibition this time has moved to Beau Belle Village, offering visitors both the opportunity to visit the art on display and to explore the region itself – although for those who wish to focus their time on the art, a series of teleport discs are available to carry them back and forth between individual displays and the main landing point.
Established by Carelyna Resident, All4Art has a mandate to move art in Second Life beyond the more traditional exhibition spaces, as the group’s description describes thus:
The vision of this group is to make art inclusive and not limit them to the galleries in SL. This is a group of artists who are driven by the need to express themselves and create art for art’s sake. The artists will show their artworks in public places other than galleries in successive itinerant exhibitions.
All4Art: Leonorah Beverly
For this exhibition, All4Art is showcasing Etamae, EvangelinaBurroughs, Kimeu, MTH63, Mylena1992, Nabrej Aabye, Leonorah Beverly, Judylynn India, Agleo Runningbear and Carelyna herself. Together they present a rich mix of SL and physical world art, with a lean potentially towards the latter, given some of the Second Life images are rendered as paintings. Almost all of the artists confine themselves to 2D works, although Nabrej Aabye offers a trio of sculptures alongside his paintings.
Meanwhile, Beau Belle’s Village offers an intriguing space for the display, mixing as it does public spaces and private rentals. Those wishing to view the art by exploring the region should do so by following the arrows pointing the way from exhibit to exhibit – the first of these arrows can be found just down from the landing point teleport discs, directing people over a humpbacked bridge.
This route will take you first along the waterfront, passing JudyLynn’s art – a set of abstracts on the them of circles, thence to Leonorah Beverly’s Second Life landscape studies presented as paintings, and onwards still along the waterfront to Carelyna’s display (down on the wharf) which again offers Second Life scenes as paintings which might be said to have something of a Van Gogh influence to them, before arriving at Agleo Runningbear ‘s quite marvellous ink wash studies of New York City that are bracketed by two colour paintings.
All4Art: Mylena1992
A little back tracking from here is required to return to the tunnel leading to the rest of the region and the remaining artists (or you can scramble up a snow-sided hill and descend by wooden steps to reach the rest of the art!). Perhaps the most striking exhibit in this part of the region is Milena1992’s; this is in part because it is contained within a hard-to-miss semi-transparent yellow surround, but mostly because it pricks at the conscience by presenting concerns about the increasingly worrying state of the planet’s climate, and exhibition in part presented with a backdrop of trees engulfed in flames – a reminder of the wildfires that visited themselves on so many around the world in 2019.
Also to be found inland are the displays by EvangelinaBurroughs (which includes a part of eye-catching paintings-as-drapes), Kimeu, Etame and Nabreij, while nestled on the north-east beach is a selection of abstract expressionist pieces by MTH63.
All4Art: EvangelinaBurroughs
Taken together, this is a richly diverse selection of art, for which there is no official closing date – the exhibition will remain in place as long as the region holders are prepared to host it.
Th Dream of Asia, January 2020 – click any image for full size
Miro Collas recently suggested we drop into the regions designed by Tatjana DeCuir and her SL partner, arvo, which have recently been redesigned to have an Asian / far east theme. Comprising two Full private regions making use of the additional 10K Land Capacity, they form a two-region estate that is home to a range of activities, including DJ sessions and dancing, and some that are more adult-related.
The range of activities is reflected at the skyborne landing point, which features a large teleport board (also to be found at various points on the ground) directing visitors to various locations. Which option you take is entirely dependent upon personal choice and the reason for visiting. However, if you’re dropping in to explore and / or to take photographs, Caitlyn and I would recommend the Bubble Tour teleport as a good place to start.
The Dream of Asia, January 2020
Located on a beach sitting in a broad bay, the Bubble Tour is a point from which it is possible to complete a full tour of the regions either on foot or via the multi-seat bubble that will fly you around and over the islands to give you a bird’s eye view of their layout and surrounds. The latter is a particularly unhurried way to pass the time when travelling with someone, as the speed ensures you can relax, set your camera position (and rotate it occasionally) and enjoy a conversation, point of the sights to one another and just appreciate the view.
Given the setting does cover two regions, there is a lot to see, and there is more than enough variation in the design to keep visitors fully engaged in travelling from beach to hilltop walk, passing through rain forest or along semi-paved paths along the way, discovering ancient ruins or well-maintained gardens, all the while drawn by the high roofs of buildings perched on cliffs or straddling stone plateaus. The network of paths and trails means that is is possible to find your way around both regions without resorting to the use of the teleport boards, but care needs also to be taken as some of the paths may not be as obvious as others.
The Dream of Asia, January 2020
This rich mix of settings brings together hints of Malaysia and the Philippines with those of Japan and China (notably through the buildings and the presence of panda). Given the off-sim surrounds, the feeling is very much that this is a place hidden somewhere along the Pacific coast of Asia (the presence of African elephants on the beach notwithstanding); a realm hidden amongst a group of protective islands, shielding itself from prying eyes.
From the bubble tour landing point, it is possible to go inland, climbing a natural “stairway” that looks to have been worn into the rock by the passage of time and feet (or perhaps in the distant past, by water), rather than being cut by hand, or follow the beach to the north. I’d recommend the latter route, as it presents a logical means to circumnavigate the regions, starting by taking the low bridge to cross the channel of water feeding the bay to enter the eastern region. Here the land points a bent-tipped finger out into the eastern sea, home home to a DJ stage built both over a natural pool of water and partially under the protective arc of a natural rock arch.
The Dream of Asia, January 2020
The finger ends in the tall and foreboding form of what might have once been a fort watching over the bay to the south. Sitting in its own grounds and elevated in a defensive manner, it is now a location for some of the more adult activities in the estate, being a Shibari house. To one side of its paved forecourt stands a red wall with circular open gateway. Pass through this, and a shrub and tree bordered path leads back to the western region, passing by way of pandas and a bamboo glade into the region’s rain forest.
Here can be found a sense of ancient design – flagstoned ground, a broken statue to Buddha (which appears to have a rock formation sprouting through it!), shrines, water channels and much of the region’s wildlife. multiple paths wind through it, offering opportunity to explore. Some of these lead the way directly up to the plateau sitting above the rain forest that is home to what might be regarded as a former palace or similar official residence, complete with outbuildings, a water garden, reception pavilion and fountains. All are open to public use and make for a striking setting.
The Dream of Asia, January 2020
Just below this large terrace, however, and nestled into the south-west corner of the region is the most marvellous house and gardens setting. It can be reached by both the rock steps leading up from the beach not far from the bubble tour, or by finding the corner path and steps that clip one side of the rain forest as they descend from the plateau. I’d highly recommend leaving this aspect of the estate for the final part of any exploratory tour, and that you reach it via the path down from the high terrace, simply because the beauty of the design is well worth holding until last.
The path from the plateau will bring you by way of rock and stone arch to a gorgeous hanging garden lit by cast-iron lamps (found elsewhere in the region as well), presenting a shaded path to the house and its broader gardens. With the mix of trees, plants, water and winding paths, it is an idyllic and romantic setting which invites visitor to again relax and appreciate a natural beauty. The house itself does not appear to be a private residence, although I would suggest the best way to appreciate it is from the gardens, where there are several places to sit and pass the time.
The Dream of Asia, January 2020
Being a predominantly mesh build that has a very high volume of textures, it can be somewhat taxing on viewers, so saving the use of shadows for taking photos and turning them off when walking might be advisable, as might dropping draw distance if you have it set to longer distances. However, with much to see and many places to sit and enjoy a cuddle or a dance to be found throughout both regions, and additional attractions such as the self-fly bubble cars (rezzers marked by signs), this iteration of LebensRaum is a place that can easily entice visitors into passing their time.
I recently reviewed Bryn Oh’s Daughter of Gears / Rabbicorn trilogy (see A Daughter of Gears and a Rabbicorn in Second Life), and while it may be only a brief two article break before returning to Bryn’s work again, there is a reason for this. It comes in the form of an exhibition of Bryn’s 2D and 3D art currently open at the Surreal Art Gallery, curated by JulietteSurrealDreaming.
The Standby Sketches offers a unique insight into Bryn’s creative process, specifically in reference to the three parts of the The Standby Trilogy.
Often when planning a new virtual artwork I still step back to the traditional art, from where I began, to sketch ideas and help myself understand what I want to convey in my artwork. This exhibit shows some of the various bits taken from my sketchbooks, the pen and ink drawing, the oil paintings, and even the bronze sculpture that materialise during the creative process.
– Bryn Oh, describing The Standby Sketches
The Standby Sketches
Spread over two level of the gallery (accessed via the teleport point in the foyer area), the exhibition presents a series of sketches showing the evolution of The Daughter of Gears, mesh models from various scenes from the trilogy (including some that do not appear to have been used in the final installations), and drawings that appear to show the evolution of the rabbicorn as well asstory scene ideas.
This is a small display, but one that is fascinating nonetheless, providing insight into Bryn’s creative process. While it might have been enhanced with some additional textual information to accompany the sketches and sets of images, one cannot find fault with none appearing; for one thing, Bryn tends to keep busy with preparing art, whether intended for SL or elsewhere. For another, these pieces on offer speak eloquently in and of themselves, particularly for those who have visited the trilogy whilst it is at Immersiva, while the sketches and drawings are more than capable of standing up in their own right as works of art.
With individual pieces available for sale, and an opportunity to obtain limited edition bronze pieces cast of The Daughter of Gears and the Rabbicorn, The Standby Sketches will be open through the rest of January and February. Given the pairing of the exhibition with the Standby Trilogy, I’d recommend a visit to this ahead of The Standby Sketches so that the fullest appreciation of both can be gained.
Waterfalls of Dreams, January 2020 – click any image for full size
Waterfalls of Dreams recently popped up in the Editor’s Picks section of the Destination Guide, and has prompted a lot of interest from visitors as a result – including from Caitlyn and I. A homestead region designed by Jeramy McMahon, it is around two years old and offers something of a neo-classical look that those of us who have been in Second Life a fair while might find particularly reminiscent.
A place intended for romance throughout and with a fantasy / fae lean, a good proportion of the region utilises prim builds – the docks, the raised dance floors and walkways overlooking the region from the east, the various pavilions and floating islands. In turn, these use shine on surfaces rather than materials and textures. All of these, together with the use of sculpties, give the region a sense of “old school” Second Life history.
Waterfalls of Dreams, January 2020
Which is not to say mesh is not present within the region, just that its use has been minimised. This is a conscious decision on Jeramy’s part to “reduce lag”. How well this works is perhaps debatable – lag itself is a highly subjective subject, given the volume of non-SL influences that can affect it; but it is an interesting approach to take. I will say I found my own experience in three visits to the region no better nor worse, performance-wise, than when visiting many other regions, prim or mesh in nature.
However, for me, what makes a visit to Waterfalls of Dreams attractive is that sense it being a place built upon that historic style and approach to design; one that has in some ways passed. It offers a deep sense of nostalgia and a sense of history, all the way through to the use of pose balls within some of the seating.
Waterfalls of Dreams, January 2020
The landing point is located down at the harbour, which itself offers something of a faint echo of the prim docks in Nautilus – although those docks are more Greco-Roman in feel. A teleport board here offers the way up to the elevated dance floors, while a Teagle horse rezzer sits close by for those who fancy a ride around the region’s lowlands, or a balloon ride located on the far side of the piers presents the opportunity for an aerial view of the region.
Paths wind around the lowlands, leading to various points of interest – pavilions offering places to sit and / or cuddle, statues to admire, and rivers of flowers to roam amongst. The waterfalls of the region’s title tumble from the cliffs behind the high dance floors to feed the waterways that also wind through the region. Their presence is augmented by falls tumbling from the more distant mountains of the sim surround (although issues of alpha blending can leave these bleeding through the sculpts of the region’s trees, requiring a considered use of edit linked and derender when taking photos under certain lighting).
Waterfalls of Dreams, January 2020
The dance floors are watched over by two huge angel-like figures standing to the north and south of the high walkways. The dance areas are themselves split between two levels, a large blocky tower sitting to the east behind them forming a bath house that in turn holds aloft a large crouched angel under a domed roof. However, this is not the tallest structure in the region; that honour goes to a great tower rising to the north-west. Reached via teleport board from the dance floors, it offers places to sit and to pass the time with a loved one or for the adventurous, the chance to fly around the region da Vinci’s glider via the rezzer.
A flair for the exotic is also offered within the region through the use of elements by Elicio Ember and Noke Yuitza. There presence is few, which makes coming across them all the more effective; Elicio’s rune stones in particular give a certain air of mystery and suggestion of fae that is well in keeping with the overall tone of the region and its statues whilst also offering an otherworldly aspect to the setting that adds to its depth.
Waterfalls of Dreams, January 2020
An unusual and engaging location with opportunities for dance, rest and photography.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 