Category: Reviews

Visiting Norddeich in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1; Inara Pey, July 2019, on FlickrHallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Update: Norddeich appears to have closed and the host region is now private.

Following a recommendation from Shawn and Max, we dropped into Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1. A Homestead region designed by Svenja Maass (MinAleiga), it offers a slightly untamed feel of a coastal region which, given the name, I couldn’t help but wonder if it took its inspiration from Germany’s East Frisian coast and islands.

I’ve no actual solid reason for stating that it does – other than the presence of Norddeich in the title (Hallig being “exuberant”), but should that be the case, then it would certainly be appropriate; the islands along that stretch of coast, together with their cousins along the more northern aspect of the Wadden Sea coastline, have given rise to the naming of a number of places in Second Life, including Norderney and Amrum, both of which have featured as destinations in this blog.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1; Inara Pey, July 2019, on FlickrHallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

While the physical world Norddeich is a coastal area, this one is quite clearly an island, one among a group that rise from the sea, although its neighbours are a good deal more mountainous in appearance – and a good deal more rugged than the Frisian islands (East or North).

With their rugged faces and lack of trees, these off-sim island give the region something of a Scandinavian feel; were that more joined, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine this to be a remote island sitting within a fjord. Hence why, perhaps, the hint of Norwegian influence in the region’s name as well (being the name of the road leading up to the Geiranger Skywalk).

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1; Inara Pey, July 2019, on FlickrHallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

The region is split into two islands – the smaller of the two forming the landing point, and the larger the main point of exploration / interest. Both are low-lying, a wooden board walk spanning the narrow channel between them. Save for the shack of the landing point, an old, bent tree and a few shrubs, the smaller island has little to entice visitors to stay, marking it as the perfect spot for the sea lions occupying a small deck on the island’s north side to enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Across the board walk, the larger island is equally low-lying. Ringed by a thin band of sedimentary sand, much of which would appear to be under water at high tide, the core of the island is buttressed by humpbacked cuesta, marking the point where the softer sediments of the beach give way to harder rock the sea is talking a lot more time to erode.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1; Inara Pey, July 2019, on FlickrHallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

On the west side of the island, the sea has had a little more success in cutting into the land, forming a shallow, sandy cove that has been set out with beach chairs, blankets and deck chairs, the flags fluttering above it indicating the area is safe for bathing but surf boards or other types of board-based spots / floatation devices are not permitted.

With few trees – the main vegetation being grass and hardy shrubs – the island offers a strange mix of buildings suggestive of this once being a place of work. Two of these sit towards the middle of the island, and have a definite industrial vibe to them. However, the larger – which may once have been a long storage shed – is now a bar, presumably here to keep those visiting the island for its beaches refreshed. Separated from it by a little outdoor drinking area and a greenhouse, the smaller of the two units has been converted into a cosy little home that looks out over a rutted track to where sheep graze in a large, fenced field.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1; Inara Pey, July 2019, on FlickrHallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

The track – one of a number rolling across ver the uneven landscape, runs past the two buildings to connect the beach to the west with a wharf to the east, a branch also connecting it with the board walk to the landing point. The wharf is clearly a place of work – the keel of a boat is being laid down inside the boat shed and a fishing boat with fish in its holds is tied-up alongside.

With multiple spots located around the beaches where cuddles and seats can be enjoyed, the region also offers other little spots for shared moments, indoors and out (try the gate into the sheep field for example). There’s also a suitable sound scape to round things off, making this an enjoyable place to visit and photograph – the latter being added by the inclusion of a cloud scape as a part of the region’s off-sim landscaping.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1; Inara Pey, July 2019, on FlickrHallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

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Kultivate AIR Gallery – July 2019

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kultivate AIR Gallery: Angyel Resident

It was back to Kultivate’s in-world base of operations for me once more at the start of July 2019, following the opening of the newly-named Kultivate AIR Gallery (formerly part of the Windlight Gallery).

Standing for Artist In Residence, the gallery brings together Angyel Resident, Anouk Lefavre, CalystiaMoonshadow, DreamMakerXDreamBreaker Resident, GlitterPrincess Destiny, Jamee Sandalwood, JolieElle Parfort, Kody Meyers, Maaddi Benazzi, Marcel Mosswood, Myra Wildmist, Pam Astonia, Sevant Anatra and Wintergeist in a broad-ranging art display occupying one wing of the galley’s lower floor.

Mixing Second Life landscapes with physical world art, monochrome with colour, paintings with drawings, abstracted pieces with experimentalist – and with just a hint of avatar-focused studies in the form of Pam Astonia’s eye-catching Profile portraits, this is a richly engaging exhibition that demonstrates the full roundness of Second Life as a medium for displaying art.

Kultivate AIR Gallery: Anouk Lefavre

As is always the case with ensemble exhibitions, limiting comments to just some of the artists can seem a little unfair; such is the depth and quality of art on show here, this is perhaps doubly so. However, I must admit that I did find myself particularly drawn to certain pieces.

The five photographs of SL landscapes by Anouk Lefavre, for example, framing marvellous horizon images with an opulent use of light and shadow contrasts or natural blending of haze to produce vistas that pull at the motions. Then there is Venice – Italy and England – Time of Henri VIII and Anne Boleyn (seen in the banner image for this article) by Angyel Resident. The latter of these, I believe, captures part of Tahiti Rae’s 2015 LEA installation, Love, Henry (read here for more), but both offer such a marvellous contrast of style and colour, they cannot fail to draw the eye and mind into them.

Kultivate AIR Gallery: Myra Wildmist

Myra Wildmist, meanwhile offers an experimental piece entitled Material Girl. You’ll need to have your viewer’s Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled via Preferences > Graphics to see this piece correctly, as the nine tiles use various normal (bump) and specular (shine) maps to produce different finishes to the piece.

As a part-time builder / kitbasher, I’ve long enjoyed using materials in various builds, and normal maps in particular – if used correctly – can add depth to SL photos where post-processing has been used to make it appear as if they have been painted, sometime which is demonstrated (if on a slightly exaggerated scale, given it is designed to bring the materials to the fore) within Myra’s piece.

Kultivate AIR Gallery: Sevant Anatra

Then there are Sevant Anatra’s paintings of Native Americans. From portraits to capturing a part of the Anishinaabe creation story, these are marvellous, evocative studies with (again) a sense of depth and life that holds one’s attention and allows the imagination to unfold stories.

And that’s just my pick of four artists from what is a superb selection of art, so do take the time to hop over to the Kultivate AIR Gallery and take a look for yourselves.

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North Brother Island, “the last unknown place”, in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

North Brother Island; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNorth Brother Island, June 2019 – click and image for full size

Update: in keeping with Serene and Jade’s approach to offering their region builds for approximately a month before moving to a new location and project, North Brother Island has closed, and SLurls therefore removed from this article.

For their July 2019 region design, Serene Footman and Jade Koltai bring us their vision for what photographer Christopher Payne called The Last Unknown Place in New York City – North Brother Island; and like all of their builds, it is a true wonder to behold and explore.

North Brother Island is one of two small islands located on New York’s East River, its slightly smaller companion now being known as South Brother Island. Both were claimed in 1614 by the Dutch West India Company and originally called De Gesellen (“the companions”), which eventually became transposed to “the Brothers”. Both island have a fascinating history, with that of North Brother perhaps being the more complex – and the more tragic.

North Brother Island; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNorth Brother Island, June 2019

In 1904, it was the final resting place of the General Slocum, a massive side-wheel paddle steamer built in the 1890s, she caught fire whilst carrying 1,342 passengers and through a combination of neglect by the owners, foolhardiness by the Captain (he failed to use opportunities to either make a safe landing or run the ship aground before the fire overwhelmed the vessel), 1,021 of those souls perished either aboard the ship or as a result of drowning in the East River – many of their bodies washing up on North Brother Island in addition to as the vessel running aground there.

In addition, Serene goes on to note the island was the home to:

Riverside Hospital, which moved here from Roosevelt Island in 1885 … Following World War II North Brother Island was inhabited by war veterans during the nationwide housing shortage, before being abandoned again in the early 1950s. It was then was used as the site of a treatment centre for adolescent drug addicts, but the centre closed amidst controversy – it was said that heroin addicts were held against their will and locked in rooms until ‘clean’ – in the 1960s.

– Serene Footman, writing about North Brother Island

North Brother Island; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNorth Brother Island, June 2019

Riverside Hospital, originally founded in the 1850s, was designed to isolate and treat victims of smallpox, with its mission expanding to cover other diseases requiring quarantine. In this role – as Serene also notes – it took in those stricken with typhoid, including “Typhoid Mary”, Mary Mallon. An Irish-American cook, she was the first person in the United States identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever. It is believed she infected between 47 and 51 people during her career as a cook, and was twice forcibly isolated by public health authorities, the second time finally passing away in Riverside Hospital in 1938, after a total of nearly three decades in isolation.

In 1943, a large tuberculosis pavilion was constructed on the island but was never used for that purpose, already being obsolete by the time it opened. Instead, it was used as a dormitory by a number of New York City’s colleges, students transported to and from the island via the East 134th Street Ferry Terminal.

North Brother Island; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNorth Brother Island, June 2019

In the late 1950s  / early 1960s, the same ferries were used to transport adolescents to the island to be “treated” for drug abuse. The idea had been to provide care for up to 100 males and 50 females away from jails where drugs could still be obtained, with stays at the pavilion being for up to six months. But the hospital gained a reputation for keeping adolescent addicts against their will – it merely required their parents to place them there, with or without the agreement of the courts. Once there, the young people were frequently locked away and left to go cold turkey as a means to break their addiction.

The hospital finally closed in the 1960s, and North Brother Island abandoned, its many building and facilities – including the ferry wharves and giant gantry crane, many of the hospital buildings and facilities, left to rot. However, many of them have now been captured in this interpretation of the island by Serene and Jade.

For our reconstruction of North Brother Island, we have relied on maps which contain details of where specific buildings – the hospital itself, staff quarters, the physician’s house, the morgue, tennis courts, and so on – were located. (For reference, we have labelled and dated the island’s buildings in-world.)

– Serene Footman, writing about North Brother Island

North Brother Island; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNorth Brother Island, June 2019

In addition they have called upon the resources of Christopher Payne’s catalogue of photos of the island: North Brother Island The Last Unknown Place in New York City. The result of five years of being allowed to visit the island  – today both North and South Brother islands are designated wildlife sanctuaries, and so protected (North Island is additionally regarded as being too dangerous for the public given the state of its buildings) – Payne carefully constructed a visual history of the island. This, together with their own extensive research, have allowed Jade and Serene have produced a region that powerfully captures North Island as it stands today, its past history, and the pathos and pain of that history.

The latter is particularly well captured in the small details to be found throughout the region. Take, for example, the bed frame converted to a seat and that sits on a little dock. A suitcase  sits behind it, while a short distance away, a little motor boat sits on the water; the entire scene brings to mind the longing of the young people held on the island to return home.

North Brother Island; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrNorth Brother Island, June 2019

To say North Brother Island is visually stunning is to do it a disservice. As with all of Serene and Jade’s builds, it must be seen to be appreciated and understood – and there are plenty of places within it that allow visitors to contemplate on the history of the island – or whatever else might be on their minds.

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Kultivate: The Edge Gallery – July 2019

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kultivate The Edge: John Brianna

The July exhibition at Kultivate Edge Gallery opened on June 23rd and will run through until late July 2019.

Specialising in monochrome art and photography, the gallery’s roll of artists comprises aht1981, DrusillaGwind, honeyBi,  KodyMeyers, understandingcomplexity, John Brianna, Eucalyptus Carroll, Davenwolf Dagger, Lena Kiopak, Nodome Resident, and Veruca Tammas.

Kultivate The Edge: HoneyBi

As is always the case with The Edge, there is a rich mix of art on offer with this exhibition, from physical world photographs, as presented by John Brianna with a fascinating set of locomotive images featuring five diesel engines positioned around a marvellous picture of an old-style steam locomotive, through to evocative avatar portraits, such as those presented by KodyMeyers on the lower floor of the gallery alongside John’s display.

In many ways, I’ve always found monochrome studies of avatars to be more attractive than colour studies; its not that I have anything against the latter, its just that for me, the former carries a degree of life in the use of light and shadow that draws me in. This is true of all of the avatar studies presented here.

Kultivate The Edge: Nodome Resident

However, for this exhibition I found myself drawn to the physical work art on offer – John’s locomotives, together with an almost triptych of drawings by Nodome Resident and a set of eight images entitled The Blacksmith Series presented by Davenwolf Dagger.

Admittedly, part of my attraction to the latter is the fact they were taken in Launceston in Tasmania, a place (along with Richmond on the southern side of the island) for which I have happy memories. As such, the photos presented by Davenwolf piqued my curiosity and stirred those memories. But it’s not just that; each and every one of these photos is rich in detail and narrative. Similarly, Nodome’s drawings are wonderfully intricate and captivating.

Kultivate The Edge: Davenwolf Dagger

But whatever your preferences for art in Second Life, the mix of physical world photos, avatar studies, art and landscapes make this a must-see exhibition.

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The exquisite allure of Otter Lake

Posted on by Inara Pey

Otter Lake; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrOtter Lake, June 2019 – click and image for full size

Otter Lake is one of the most alluring homestead regions we have recently visited. The work of Sharon Hinterland, this is a truly remarkable region in terms of the amount of space the region exudes, the beauty of the design, and the richness of detail. So much so that it is actually hard to believe it is only an Homestead region and thus capped with a land capacity of 5K.

Set out as a rural island sitting amidst a little archipelago, this is a place that is a sheer joy to explore. The landing point sits towards the west of the region, lying on a stretch of shingle coast bordered on one side by the estuary of a fast running channel that cuts the land in a broad arc, and overlooked by a wooden lighthouse sitting on a rocky promontory on the other.

Otter Lake; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrOtter Lake, June 2019

The dock on which the landing point can be found is clearly a place where visiting boast might moor – a gas pump for refuelling them sits just back from the water’s edge, a little office just behind it. From here, visitors can walk up the hill and visit the lighthouse (be careful around some of the rocks, they can be a little “spongy”, shall we say), or follow a wooden path that curls around an old barn / garage to where it splits to either roll back down to the coast and a simple bridge of planks spanning the arcing channel, or to wind onward to become an asphalt path that twists over of the ridge coming off the back of the rocks supporting the lighthouse to drop back down into a small valley and across the little channel of water via a more substantial bridge.

The far side of this bridge offers further choices: do you turn left and inland, to follow the raised bank of the channel, keeping to the narrow ledge the sprouts from the side of a hill? Or do you follow the log path that climbs the hill under the shade of the trees crowning it? And if you do, should you turn off from that path and descend stone steps to where smoke rises from a small cabin? Or do you continue to follow the path onwards into the lee of tall cliffs?

Otter Lake; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrOtter Lake, June 2019

It is these kind of choices – and there are many across the region – that help to make a visit to Otter Lake such a joy.  Paths meander, climb slopes, descend hills, curl around rocky heights or climb them along the curling or straight lines of stone steps, or point the way to where ribbons of sandy or shingle beach wrap their way around the coast. Within all of these paths is a further delight: just when you think you have seen it all, you round a corner or reach another ridge, you find yourself at another unexpected path or stairway, or a new vista opens before you, enticing you on, giving the region its feeling of expansive openness.

Across this landscape are multiple points of interest – places to sit, to cuddle, to appreciate the view, and relax. There are cabins and little houses waiting to be discovered – all of them open to exploration, as the About Land description notes.   Travel to the north-west of the island and you’ll find a small working farm, sitting in the loop of a shingle beach and at the end of a dirt track.

Otter Lake; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrOtter Lake, June 2019

Follow this track as it winds upwards along a gentle slope and under a rich mix of trees, and it will lead to the island’s heart, literally and visually: a marvellous lake from which a single brook tumbles its way along another channel that connects the lake to the coast by way of rocky pools and little drops over their lips, the water bubbling and splashing under bridges and across what might be little fords.

The lake forms the focal point for a stone-built cottage that looks out over the waters from a shoulder of rock, revealing the quite extraordinary garden-like setting. This features places around the rim of the lake that can be enjoyed, There’s a deck, an old rowing boat tipped on its side to form a little snug, paths and little gatherings of plants, a gazebo and, for those so minded, a raft on the lake’s waters.

Otter Lake; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrOtter Lake, June 2019

The entire location is fabulously natural in design. And that’s the other attraction of Otter Lake; the entire region feels like it has been formed by nature, not created by human mind and hand. This is a place where the landscape is widely varied, rich in contrasts from shingle and sandy shores through low-lying grasslands, rolling hills to up-thrusts of rock that form plateaus and tables, all of which roll together in a perfect blend, populated by trees and bushes, grass and flowers, rounded-out by an ideal sound scape.

Nor does it end there at the lake. Across the water from the cabin, water tumbles down a high cliff-face. Follow the paths running around the bowl of the lake from the cabin – one of which will lead you past another, smaller cabin – and you’ll come to more stone steps leading the way up the slopes either side of another channel of fast-flowing water that churns its way from a pool on the crown of the island down to the falls that drop into the lake. Here sits the final treat: the pond itself and the shack of a cabin overlooking it, aged but cosy inside, and with an octagonal deck extending out to the south and west, providing a magnificent view back towards the lighthouse and the landing point.

Otter Lake; Inara Pey, June 2019, on FlickrOtter Lake, June 2019

Otter Lake really is the most exquisite design for a region. Almost perfectly formed, it is a photographer’s and explorer’s delight, a tour de force of what can be achieved within a Homestead region – and without overloading people’s systems. It is certainly a destination not to be missed and appreciated. When visiting, do please consider making a donation towards, the region’s continue existence (there’s a piggy bank at the landing point!

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Cica’s Cubism in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Cica Ghost: Cubes

As the old, old saying goes, “I have some bad news and some good news.”

The bad news is that if you were hoping to visit Cica Ghost’s Luna Park (see Cica’s Luna Park in Second Life), that build has now gone from Second Life, the result of low visitor figures, possibly as a result of clashing with SL16B.

The good news is that Cica has replaced it with something that is quite dynamically wacky (literally, if you wander across the landscape!), a piece she calls Cubes.

Cica Ghost: Cubes

Occupying the same region as Luna Park, Cubes is a curious piece, comprising a barren landscape under a bright sky, occupied by a few bare trees, but which is periodically deluged by downpours of … huge steel reinforced concrete blocks.

These appear a handful of metres above the dry land, hover for a few seconds as if waiting for gravity to notice them and question just what the heck do they think they are playing at, before yanking them down to the ground, where they tumble and roll against one another and build random mounds and towers before silently poofing and starting over.

With the lines of steel bars embedded within them creating checkerboard patterns on their face, these great cubes look like a certain cubic puzzle game, albeit one usually made up of smaller cubes with coloured faces. Hence why, perhaps, Cica gives Cubes a quote from that game’s creator:

The Cube is an imitation of life itself – or even an improvement on life.

– Ernő Rubik

Cica Ghost: Cubes

And, given these cubes are physical, they can have quite an – impact, shall we say – on life should you happen to wander out and stand when they are falling!

There is something very faintly Petrovsky Flux-ish (for those who remember that installation) about Cubes. The way the Cubes fall is mindful of the destruction of each Flux build – be here, all the pieces are regular, and the fantastical forms they create are entire as a result of their  dropping from the sky, rather than the starting point for their collapse. Watching them, like the parts Petrovsky Flux, can be oddly hypnotic.

I’m not sure how long Cubes will be open, but like Luna Park, it’s meant in fun.

SLurl Details

  • Cubes (Meropis, rated Moderate)