Category: Reviews

EXTRAprimitives is a new art installation by Nevereux that is open through until the end of November 2019, thanks to the sponsorship of Dreamseeker Estates. A semi-immersive installation, it is a multi-faceted piece that has been through a long gestation period, rooted in the idea of offering a piece intended to be largely theme-free, as Nevereux explains in her introductory notes to the exhibit:

EXTRAprimitives – a project I started in April 2018, initiated for fun and with no great theme in mind, a project I wouldn’t be doing without the support of people* who believe in art. Personally, I believe in love.

– Nevereux, introducing EXTRAprimitives

Interestingly however, the installation opens with a “Manifesto” – or perhaps commentary might be a better term – that revolves around a series of observations on life, offered in a semi-cryptic manner. As one progresses through the installation, it is evident that those cryptic messages are evident as observations within EXTRAprimitives. They exist as a thread, rather than theme, that gently runs through the broader tapestry of pieces, coming to the fore here and there before slipping quietly back into the weave before again coming to the fore.

The best way to describe the installation is perhaps as a series of vignettes and displays. Some are defined within walled display spaces; others stand free on the walls. Each vignette or display is unique unto itself, with many offering a celebration of the creative potential within SL, again as Nevereux noted to me in conversation:

There is a bit of everything because when I started [I had] this idea [of] was what can I do with a cube and a sphere. Sadly, [due to space limitations] this is only half of the collection. I sacrificed the straight cube and sphere ones for the more interesting or meaningful ones.

So it is that EXTRAPrimitives offers an extraordinary richness of content from the more light-hearted (notably among the signs on along the back wall of the installation – although several of these also provoke the grey matter between the ears into cogitating –  through to the completely psychedelic Healing – which those who find moving lights and / or are prone to motion sickness should enter with care (and you should enter the piece with your avatar and draw your camera full inside Healing’s “box” to appreciate it properly).

The commentary on modern life can be found threaded throughout the installation within pieces such as Evolution, with it’s very clear Apple Inc., reference, Nothing Is All White and Inner Mechanism. Sometimes, as with these pieces, the reference is clear; elsewhere it is more subtle – such as with In A Bar, where the emptiness of the bar setting references the lack of genuine socialising modern life encourages.

Similarly, the piece reflecting Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures perhaps references the punk / Goth movements a lot less than it does the album becoming something of an anthem of the digital “social” age (e.g. as reflected in its use within the likes of Ready Player One), and so again underscores the shallowness in eschewing face-to-face social interaction in favour of the structured artificiality of virtual socialising.

Some of the pieces also offer a broader commentary on life. Feelings, for example appears to highlight the advertiser’s peddling of the idea that a genuine emotional response can be obtained via a can of soda. Meanwhile Fine Line points a finger at the collapse of social leadership with a clear reference to current politics, while Love Hate illustrates, perhaps the slow erasure of the separation between civility and incivility in society.

There is also something of a personal statement here as well: EXTRAprimitives might be considered Nevereux’s legacy to Second Life arts, as she indicated to me that for her, the platform is perhaps not what it used to be and the time is ripe to turn her attention to pastures new, although she will continue to cheer the work of other artists. If true, this additionally makes a visit to the installation something not to be missed.

However you look at EXTRAPrimitives, it is richly expressive and engaging, with wonderful layering throughout that is likely to have you looking at the various pieces more than once as the brain cells start contemplating ideas, themes and constructs. As noted, it will remain open through until November 30th, 2019.

SLurl Details

• EXTRAprimitives (Sunshine Meadows, rated Moderate)

La Maison d’Aneli, curated by Aneli Abeyante, opened its November 2019 ensemble exhibition on October 30th, once again offering a rich mix of art.

The featured artists for this exhibition comprise IndigoClaire, Gitu Aura, Beertje Beaumont, Senka Beck, Treacle Darlandes, Lala Lightfool and Norton Lykin. With the exception of Treacle Darlandes’ Undiscovered Planet / La Serre, the individual exhibits primarily focus on 2D art.

Beertje Beaumont and Lala Lightfool present their physical world art, with some very different pieces on offer.  Lala presents a display entitled Flowers, a series of watercolour paintings of trees and flowers, some of which are conventionally presented – trees in fields, flowers in pots, while others are more abstract in nature.

For her part, Beertje presents a series of pieces that share a floral theme with Lala’s. However, Beertje prefers working in acrylics, often working them over a layer of sand and gesso. As shown in a number of pieces offered here, this gives them a marvellous textured look that is particularly effective given their subject matter.

With her installation, Senka Beck presents Detoxomania, Reboot, which she describes as her “individualistic version” of her collaboration Detoxomania, presented at La Maison d’Aneli in 2018 (see: Abstract and surreal in Second Life). This is a piece that must be viewed with Advanced Lighting Model enabled (Preferences → Graphics) and with local sounds enabled, presenting a mix of 2D and 3D elements that are best experienced rather than described.

IndigoClaire and Gitu Aura present exhibits that predominantly focus on avatar studies, while Norton’s exhibit comprises a series of pieces intended to be reflections on nature, love, perception and cognition.

Eclectic, diverse and rich in presentation and colour, this is another intriguing selection of art.

SLurl and Links

• la Maison d’Aneli Gallery (VeGeTal PLaNeT, Oak Park, rated Moderate)
• la Maison d’Aneli in this blog

Currently open at the Rainbow Painters Art Gallery, curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Roxley is an ensemble exhibition entitled Artists Choice, which once again offers a rich mix of art from both Second Life and the physical world and a broad cross-section of Second Life artists.

To be honest, I’m unsure as to the origins of the exhibition title and whether it is a reference to the fact each artist selected their own pieces for it rather than it being set to a theme, or whether the pieces on offer were selected by those within the Rainbow Arts group on seeing the various artists’ work, or some other mechanism. Not that it really matters (although I suspect the first of these options) – what matters is the art on display.

For those who enjoy SL centric art, the exhibition offers pieces by the likes of (but not limited to) Alena Pit and Arin Bellios (avatar-centric studies), and Doc Romano, Fabio and Bella Firefly (landscapes); while artists such as CheekyJane Sahara, Eta Goldsmith, Callum Writer and Pure Love offer pieces of their physical world art.

Also to be found within the gallery is some admirable wildlife art by Nina Camplin and Janelle (who is also the gallery’s “New Artist of the Month”), displayed with a 3D elephant by Claude Belgar. Meanwhile, on the upper wing of the gallery, one can find Milly Sharple’s always impressive art leading the way to a exhibition of art featuring the Boston role-play region, as entered in a competition to depict Boston at the time f the famous Tea Party.

With 40 artists exhibiting, the above is barely scratching the surface for this exhibition. There really is a richness of art that is engrossing. Given this, Artists Choice offers more than enough to sate the thirst of any art lover, and I admit to being particularly drawn to certain pieces – notably Callum Writer’s fabulous abstractions, Nina Camplin’s tiger and lion studies and Doc Romano’s two SL landscapes.

These six pieces proved to be personal eye magnets during my exploration of the exhibition even though I found all of the art engaging (and wanted to both fuss Milly Sharple’s Blue Cat and step into either tempestad de fuego or En el corazon de las tinieblas by Javier, simply because the manner in which they present the same scene so independently of one another.

All told, Artists Choice is engaging, and well worth taking the time too jump over to Rainbow Painters Art Gallery to see. And if you like images suitable for Halloween, do check out Haunted Picture by Edwige Monroe – just give it a minute when viewing.

SLurl Details

• Rainbow Painters Art Gallery (Chadara, rated; Moderate)

Kerry Harbour Pop Up Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of art arranged by Michel Bechir of the Lyric Gallery. It features art by ViktorSavior, Xia Firethorn and Carey Chenault, and forms a small, cosy exhibition, with Xia and Carey noted as winners of the Lyric Gallery’s Visual Feast Music Competition.

Located in a small town house, the exhibition sits on two floors. On the ground floor and occupying the front room is a selection of ViktorSavior’s paints of cloud formations. Half a dozen of these charming and rich cloudscapes, and the opportunity to take your own picture against a backdrop of clouds over a coastal sea-scape by Viktor.

In the back room of the house is a set of four images by Xia Firethorn and focused of Second Life landscapes that are captivating in scope and presentation, and one avatar study, The Kimono, which is quite bewitching in its form and narrative.

The single upper floor of the gallery is devoted to Carey Chenault’s art. Again focusing on Second Life landscapes, Carey’s work is smaller in scale than Xia’s and Viktor’s allowing for a larger display of pieces  – 11 in total – featuring some of SL’s popular destinations.

Cosy, easy-on-the-eye and with some captivating images, this is a charming exhibition worth taking the time to visit.

SLurl Details

• Kerry Harbour Pop Up Gallery (Kerry Harbour, rated Moderate)