Category: Reviews

The peace and seasons of Angelhaven in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Angelhaven; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrAngelhaven – click any image for full size

Angelhaven is an artists’ concept of the natural wheel of change, beautifully expressing the seasons around us and within us. A haven for angels, winged and unwinged, and those searching for romance, peaceful prayer, and the things that comfort and remind us we are only human. Happy or sad, lonely or in good company, love and loss, life and death, there is a time and a season for all things.

– Angelhaven description

Angelhaven; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrAngelhaven

So reads the description for the Full region of Angelhaven,designed and held by Vangel (VanderGalaeth). As the description suggests, this is a place for reflection, a natural setting that encompasses the beauty of nature and the realm of fantasy. It is also a place that exists on multiple levels, starting with the landing point  1,000 metres above ground level.

Here, visitors will find the rules for visiting the region – all of which are straightforward and understandable. Also available by touching the rules board, is a note card outlining all the major destinations within the region, each with its own land mark enclosed. However, these can also be reached via the teleport disk located at the end of the short hall leading off the main arrivals hall.

Angelhaven; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrAngelhaven

Several of the locations can be found on the ground – including the Ballroom, the Café, the four seasons and the Swamp. Others are located on their own islands in the sky, such as the Lunar House, the Angel House, and the Solar House. Given the fantasy nature of the region, the windlight offers an ethereal look and theme: a pervasive orange glow surrounding the land and sky islands.

Those locations on the ground are linked one to another by paths making exploration possible without necessarily resorting to teleporting. Walking also reveals all the little spots to be found for sitting, cuddling and simply resting.

Angelhaven; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrAngelhaven

The sky locations offer a nice feeling of further privacy and separation, while the similar nature of their appearance also helps give a sense of commonality between them, and thus a feeling of continuity as you travel one to the next, or between them and locations on the ground.

Finished with a fitting ambient sound scape, Angelhaven makes for a restful visit; a place where myth and fantasy mix gently with one anther to offer an environment open to being enjoyed and where tension can slip away. As noted, there are plenty of places to be found for couples to enjoy, as well as places to be appreciated in solitude.

Angelhaven; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrAngelhaven

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Edie Horngold at DiXmiX

Posted on by Inara Pey
DiXmiX Gallery: Edie Horngold

Now open at DiXmiX Gallery, curated by Dixmix Source, is an exhibition of art by Edie Horngold entitled What’s the Pointe? It is located in the gallery’s White Gallery exhibition hall on the mezzanine level, and as might be hinted at in the title, it has something of a ballet theme to it.

On display are 13 images presented in black-and-white or soft tones, each focused on a dancer, either in full or on a specific aspect of her dance. or attire – such as ballerina flats in the case of the latter, or the hands placed in premiere en bas in the case of the former. Some present poses that might not be considered “traditional” ballet poses, but certainly echo the central theme.

DiXmiX Gallery: Edie Horngold

The use of black-and-white / soft tones causes the eye to be drawn into each of the images far more effectively that had they been rendered in colour. It also gives them a crisp depth that gives them a degree of life that again, might not be as evident were the images produced in colour.

While it is likely to be accidental rather than by design, the monochrome nature of What’s the Pointe? offers a powerful and engaging contrast with My Anonymous Shadow, the exhibition of work by Dixmix Source on display in the Grey Gallery hall, and which you can read about here).

DiXmiX Gallery: Edie Horngold

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In the Forest of Astray in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray – click any image for full size

The Forest of Astray is a Full region that offers a curio of a setting to explore, parts of which might be currently be under renovation.

Designed by 絵理子 (Eriko), this is a setting that, though a clever use of horizontal space and design, has the feeling of being far bigger than 256 metres on a side, and within which it is quite easy to become disoriented whilst exploring – just as you might in an actual forest.

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray

Within the forest, the region is divided by streams and hills into a number of different settings, which are brought together by the paths and trails the meander under bough and leaf and over bridge and water, neatly sewing everything into a cohesive whole. Included within these settings are a farm, two houses, a beach and cabin, a fishing wharf with boats, gardens, old ruins of towers and houses, and walled Japanese house, glades where flowers grow and deer play, a reed-sided estuary fed by two streams, ponds and waterfalls, greenhouses-as-pavilions and more.

It is at the farm where visitors begin their journey, up in the north-east corner of the region. From here, a track hops over a bridge and winds outward and over a narrow channel of water to where a second bridge (which can also be reached by a grassy path running along the water’s edge)  leads the way into the forest proper.

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray

Here the path winds between the trunks of giant oaks, the air alive with birdsong, the ground gradually becoming obscured by mist that becomes even thicker once another bridge has been crossed, and the sounds of piano might be heard. Follow the music and you’ll find an aged piano, its wood mildewed and mossy, sitting within the ruins of a building set on the far side of a path cutting across the one your on, presenting two routes of further exploration.

Take one, and you’ll be led by twist and turn lit by wolves carrying lanterns in their jaws, to the ruins of an old stone tower overlooking the junction of several streams. Take the other route from the piano and it will lift you up out of the mists before bringing you to a wall marking the boundary of a large property, the ground dropping sharply away on the other side into a fog bound bowl, reached via a pair of gates.

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray

Here, under its own windlight and with rain falling steady, is a setting well suited to Halloween. Crows circle just above head height, strange figures loom out of the mists while the house stands as a shadow, old and decrepit, a strange (and decidedly sexual) tableau framed within its rotting walls, the upper floor given over to BDSM equipment.

If such a scene is not to your taste, simply pass the gates by and continue along the path outside of the wall and turn left at the point where it ends in a stone circle. A short distance across the grass you’ll find  a track lit by a scattering of luminescent confetti running down a short slope. The confetti points the way to where another grassy path runs by a glade of tall grass lapping around the feet of a pavilion; a place where a dance can be enjoyed. Stay on the path, and it will take you past – or to – the tower ruins, where it becomes the riverside route leading back to the wooden bridge crossed earlier.

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray

A cobbled path runs along another side of the glade with its pavilion,  directing people through gabled gates to yet anther bridge, and thus to the southern aspects of the region. This offers even more to explore along winding paths: glades where angels might lie sleeping; gardens with hot tubs and dancing; hidden pools of clear water; the white frames and columns of the previously mentioned greenhouse and its companion pavilion – and more.

Choose the right paths here, and the rest of the setting will open to you, be it the bridge reaching back to where the Japanese house and onsen lie snug between wooded rocks and the sea, or the board walk reaching around a headland to the beach. A further path can be found, passing over stepping-stones and through a narrow gorge to where stone steps lead up to the south-east corner of the region, in which sits the largest house on the island, raised above the fishing wharf.

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray

It is here – and on the beach – where indications that parts of the region might be under some remodelling were visible during our visit; furniture was floating over the beach cabin, while things around the house were in slight disarray (I’m actually not entirely sure whether the large house is supposed to be open the public; a request to Eriko for clarification passed unanswered; so take care with invading privacy while exploring, just in case).

Even with these little glitches, Forest of Astray makes for an engaging visit, with plenty of opportunities for photography and romance for those wishing to enjoy a dance.  The adult undertones aren’t restricted to the house in the north-west corner, some of which might not be wise for a Moderate region – but these also aren’t particularly overt enough to question a visit. Overall, this is a unique location and well worth a visit, one that is well worth setting aside to explore simply because there is to much to find and see.

Forest of Astray; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrForest of Astray

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Dodo Ahanu at Club LA and Gallery

Posted on by Inara Pey
Club LA and Gallery: Dodo

The latest exhibition at Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko ‘冬子’ Amano (Wintergeist) opened on Sunday, February 10th, featuring the art of Dodo (DodoAhanu).

Located on the gallery’s ground floor, the exhibit presents 18 of Dodo’s images that span his photography from 2013 through to 2018, offering a mix of landscape, art and avatar studies, making this exhibition an engaging introduction to Dado’s work and evolving style for those of us previously unfamiliar with his work.

Club LA and Gallery: Dodo

Dodo’s landscapes, particularly those presented in a panoramic format, are sweeping in their extent. There is also a quality about some of them that suggests while they were taken within Second Life, they are somehow a window onto the physical world. Meanwhile, his avatar studies include two self portraits, although it is Silent Moment that particularly caught my eye; it has that richness of narrative I so enjoy finding in images.

However, it is in two of the “earliest” pieces in the exhibition (“earliest” in that they date back to 2013 and 2014 respectively) that particularly captivated me: PRAVDA dark couture and The Ballet I. Both are very different to one another and to the other pieces presented. The latter demonstrates a wonder use of projected light and shadow to create an image, while the former is simply marvellous in the use of tone, light, and processing to create the impression of a drawing straight from the artist’s hands.

Club LA and Gallery: Dodo

All of the pieces presented in this exhibition are offered for sale, and more of Dodo’s work can be found on his Flickr pages.

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The lost islands of Chesapeake Bay in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Chesapeake Bay; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrChesapeake Bay – click any image for full size

Update: in keeping with Serene and Jade’s approach to having their region designs open for approximately a month, Chesapeake Bay has now closed and the host region is under private holding. SLurls have therefore been removed from this article.

Serene Footman and Jade Koltai have opened their February region design – called Chesapeake Bay – and, given it is by two people who always produce the must stunning vistas in Second Life, it is utterly captivating.

Our latest sim is located in the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary in the US states of Maryland and Virginia.  The Chesapeake Islands are famous for the simple reason that they disappeared. Built on clay and silt, over the course of a century the islands were gradually submerged as a result of erosion exacerbated by sea level rise. They were the islands that sank.

– Serene Footman, introducing Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrChesapeake Bay – click any image for full size

For the build, Jade and Serene have focused on two islands in particular:  Holland Island and Sharps Island, with a particular focus on the former while blending features of both into a unique setting and memorial to both with all of the attention to detail and care in design that make their work among the best to be found in Second Life. As with all of their regions, this design carries within it a story – or rather stories. The first – and primary – story is that of the attempts of a husband and wife team to save Holland Island and the last remaining house standing upon it, all that remained of a place once home to over 400 watermen and farmers, and their families.

Stephen White, a waterman and Methodist Minister, first visited Holland Island when he was a boy. Years later, he was visiting one of the island’s three cemeteries when he saw an inscription on one of them.
The discovery inspired Stephen White to embark on a campaign to stop Holland Island from disappearing into the sea. He purchased the island for $70,000, and set up the Holland Island Preservation Foundation. For fifteen years, Stephen and his wife waged their own battle against the sea. Spending $150,000, they built wooden breakwaters, laid sandbags and carried 23 tons of rocks to the island and dropped them at the shoreline.

– Serene Footman, describing Stephen White’s attempt to save Holland Island

Chesapeake Bay; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrChesapeake Bay – click any image for full size

The waters of the Chesapeake were not to be held back, however, and in 2010 that last house, originally built in 1888, collapsed, forcing the Whites to admit defeat and sell the island. The remnants of  that last house was completely lost to the waters of the bay in 2012.

Hoewever, for this incarnation and in recognition of the Whites’ attempts, the house remains, much as it appeared in 2010 after the initial collapse. It sits on the west side of the island, the carcasses of the vehicles used to try to shore up the land around it slowly drowning under the rising waters, watched over by sea birds and waterfowl.

Chesapeake Bay; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrChesapeake Bay – click any image for full size

North of the Last House is an automated lighthouse sitting on a platform, marking the second story commemorated by the region: that of lighthouse keeper Ulman Owens. The light sits atop a platform once home to the Holland Island Bar Lighthouse, also built in 1888, and manned through until 1960, when the automated tower replaced it on the platform. In 1931, keeper Owens was found dead in the lighthouse kitchen amidst a scene of apparent violence, including a bloodied butcher’s knife close to the body and bloody stains within the room, although the body itself showed no significant wounds.

Initially, his death was ruled the result of a fit, rather than foul play. But subsequent investigations and an autopsy suggested Owens may have been murdered by local rum runners or that, given he had at least two affairs that caused the women involved to leave their husbands, he might have been set upon by an angry husband. However, as the autopsy revealed Owens had heart disease, the ruling of accidental death was held, and the case closed.

Chesapeake Bay; Inara Pey, February 2019, on FlickrChesapeake Bay – click any image for full size

Sharps Island, although some distance from Holland Island in the physical world, is represented in the region by a reproduction of the “leaning tower” of the (deactivated) Sharps Island Light, and the ruins of a second large house. The latter represents the popular (if short-lived, due to the island’s continuing erosion) hotel built by Miller R. Creighton in the late nineteenth century. Sharps Island itself finally vanished under the waves in 1960.

Today, Holland Island is marshlands and sandbars, home to a great many varieties of birds and waterfowl, and Serene and Jade have captured this within their design, which is finished with an atmospheric windlight and superb sound scape.

As with all of Jade and Serene’s builds, Chesapeake Bay won’t be around forever, so do make a point of visiting; you won’t be disappointed. Be sure, as well, to read the excellent piece on the region and its inspiration on the Furillen blog.

 

 

Kiss Like A Blow: a story in art and words

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kiss Like a Blow

Storie’s Helendale (GlitterPrincess Destiny) has a reputation for producing thought-provoking installations that often combine narrative and art. Such is the case with Kiss Like a Blow, which opened at the Black Label Exhibitions Centre on Saturday, February 9th, 2019.

Reaching the installation is a two-step process: take the teleport sphere from the gallery’s landing area up to the introductory area, where some essential information on the installation can be found – and should be read. Once done, a second teleport sphere will carry you up to the installation proper.

This project was done in regards to No Violence by 2lei … Only I chose to do my own Story, my way. A strange love story, somewhat – twisted. Is this your story?

– Storie’s Helendale, discussing Kiss Like A Blow

Kiss Like a Blow

This takes the form of a house sitting within a winter setting – and given the focus of the installation, I would say this winter setting is intentional, as the coldness reflects the core of the story. Within this house are five rooms and six diaries. On the walls of each of the rooms are pictures that tell the story of what should be the happiest day in the lives of two people in love, a story reflected in the diaries.

The latter are to be found throughout the house, at least one per room. Some are hidden in plain sight, others will need to be found. The story they reveal is written from the perspective of the female half of the couple. As Storie’s hints, this is not the usual tale of a couple in love – but it is a story thousands of women will recognise, and one so unfortunately often the subject of news reports.

At 2lei and One Billion Rising (which will once again be taking place in Second Life on Thursday, 14th February 2019), the vast majority of violence against women and girl is of a domestic nature perpetrated by loved one, be they a spouse, a partner, a parent or a relative.

Kiss Like a Blow

Women caught in these situations are often unable to break out of a cycle of love and violence. It is a harrowing, heartbreaking situation; one in which physical blows are seen by the victim the equivalent of kisses, and  manipulation viewed as an expression of love; where the emotional need for love and affection overrules the instinct for self-preservation.

All of this is reflected within Kiss Like A Blow, offered both as a means to bring the plight of so many women into the light – and perhaps a means of holding a mirror to those who might be all too familiar with the story through their own lives, and by doing so, perhaps encourage them take steps to end their own cycle. Hence Storie’s comment: Is this your story?

It’s a dark subject, but one handled with care and concern for the subject by Storie’s. The narrative is presented in blank verse, the images intentionally stepped away from pictures of overt violence – something that makes Kiss Like A Blow a poignant installation.

Kiss Like a Blow

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