Category: Reviews

The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola

Art in Second Life can cover many genres, disciplines and forms – some of which can be controversial (perhaps most notably at the time this article was being written, the use of AI tools). The platform also has the ability to bring art – both from the platform itself and from the physical world – to an audience who might not otherwise come to see or appreciate. In this regard, Second Life can be an educational force for art and the history of art.

In this latter regard, I recently visited a fascinating exhibition concerning Renaissance artist with whom I was not overly familiar. Created by Camie Rembrandt, herself a creator and visual storyteller, The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola takes the visitor on a visual and informative dive into the life and art of a highly influential Italian artist, Sofonisba Anguissola. Located within the estate of the Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS), the installation also touches upon the work of both some of her contemporaries (including two of her sisters), and the influence she exerted over those who followed her.

The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola

For those – like me – previously unaware of Sofonisba, she was born around 1532 in one of the more modest Lombardy noble families, and received an education which included fine arts to become one of the first women painters to be accepted for formal apprenticeships and training as a student of art. As a young woman, her talent was recognised by Michelangelo when she moved to Rome, and in around 1559, she moved to Madrid to become a lady-in-waiting and personal tutor in art to  Elizabeth of Valois, the Spanish Queen, and later an official court painter to the king, Philip II. This, coupled with her rising fame and financial independence (courtesy of two supportive husbands, the first the result of an arranged marriage on the part of Philip II, the second the result of love), allowed her to become a skilled and highly regarded artist, famous for her portraiture, willing to encourage and train younger artists.

Passing away at the astonishing age of 93, Sofonisba’s oeuvre had a lasting influence on subsequent generations of artists, influencing the likes of Rubens and Caravaggio, whilst inspiring a cadre of contemporary female artists to reach beyond the constraints placed on their education (such as not being able to study anatomy or nudity), and reach similar heights of ability and fame in painting, including Lavinia Fontana.

The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola

For her installation, Camie presents prints of some of Sofonisba’s most highly regarded works across five rooms:

  • Ground floor to the right of the landing point: family paintings by young Sofonisba, and regarded as her most attractive pieces, painted at a time when she had yet to have the formal strictures of courtly painting impressed upon her.
  • A selection of her self-portraits painted throughout her life – as Cami notes, between Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt van Rijn, Sofonisba Anguissola produced the most numerous self-portraits of any artist in that period, laving us a rich legacy of work marking her passing years.
  • A selection of paintings from her 20-year career as a royal painter for the court of Philip II.
The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola

Upstairs, and split between two rooms are paintings by other artists:

  • The first room (furnished in a style befitting Anguissola’s time) contains works by Sofonisba’s sisters Lucia (2) and Europa (1) and by contemporary Lavinia Fontana (who studied with Anguissola before going on become perhaps the first female career artist in Western Europe, relying on commissions for her income.
  • The second room presents portraits of Sofonisba which contain their own mysteries. The first is that of The Sienna Portrait, featuring Bernadino Campi, one of her teachers, painting Sofonisba. The second is a piece by Antoon van Dyck, depicting Sofonisba shortly before her death. However, I’ll allow Cami to reveal the mysteries to you when you visit the exhibition.

What is particularly engaging with this exhibition is the care with which it has been developed. All of the images presented are public domain, and Cami guides visitor through the exhibition via 5 HUDs (one for each room and obtained from the INFO signs in each room, or via vendors in the upstairs lounge area if any of the signs prove recalcitrant). Also in the lounge area, visitors can find a catalogue for the exhibition Cami has put together and which offers even more insight to Sofonisba’s life and art and the pieces included in this exhibition, together with a video version of the catalogue.

The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola – one of the exhibition HUDs

A magnificent endeavour, rich in art and history, the The Art and Life of Sofonisba Anguissola should be visited by anyone with an interest in art and its history.

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Dreamer’s Landing: a community supporting new users in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Dreamer’s Landing, February 2025

Update, March 27th: Dreamer’s Landing is being overhauled and is currently closed. 

Co-founded by Ⱥvalon Bouvier and Fire (Fire3850), I first dropped into Dreamer’s Landing in mid-December 2024, drawn by the concept of a setting which brings together both those new to Second Life and those engaged with the platform in order to foment a sense of community, learning, encouragement and support, in which new users gain a better foothold in-world, from being able to find a free home through to having the opportunities for direct mentorship and to engage in social events – users can even apply for jobs within the setting.

At the time of my first visit, there was still work going on setting-up parts of the region, so I had intended to hop back again at the start of the New Year and take a detailed look at Dreamer’s Landing; unfortunately, things being what they were, I didn’t manage to do so until later January – so my apologies to Fire, Avalon and their team for the delay in getting this article put together.

Our mission at Dreamer’s Landing is to provide housing, mentorship and community to new and experienced SL members, where everyone contributes and respects the people within the community. We do this by attracting seasoned residents who want to create community and mentoring.

– Dreamer’s Landing Mission Statement

Dreamer’s Landing, restaurant – February 2025

Occupying a Full private region utilising the Land Capacity bonus offered by Linden Lab, Dreamer’s Landing is not currently a part of the Lab’s Community Gateway programme, as re-launched in 2017. This is primarily because it is more a “next step” community for new users rather than a place for leaping in from sign-up and getting started; however, it does have links with several community gateways, including the Lab’s own welcome hub, where such on-boarding does occur. By keeping a little apart from the usual mix of on-boarding, focused learning (mixing self-learning with mentor support) found within “traditional” Community Gateways, Dreamer’s Landing is able to focus more on personalised support built around the overall sense of community.

In addition, Members of the team may have their own homes within the community and are very much a part of social activities; thus, the sense of friendship and community is further fostered, and this helps lower any embarrassment newer users might otherwise feel when it comes to asking questions / seeking assistance. Within this, Dreamer’s Landing wraps within itself the concept of paying forward; new users obtaining a home within the region are asked to give a little back to the community in support of others, as Avalon noted to me.

We have about 12 mentors at the moment who are volunteering to spend time with our new residents, and we have onboarded 14 new residents so far, hopefully giving them all a lift up to their new life in SL. Part of the project is that we encourage new users to give back by becoming greeters at the Landing Point or by contributing directly to the rest of the community here. We also try to encourage them to discover things they’d like to do in-world. 

– Avalon Bouvier, co-founder, Dreamer’s Landing

Dreamer’s Landing, February 2025

The Landing Point is located on the ground level of the region, which has been attractively laid out in a style of 18th and 19th century French metropolitan architecture, with some Greco-Romano touches. A region surround offers a sense of greater space, whilst the region as a whole mixes community spaces, a small business district, gardens, and residential rentals, all brought together by cobbled avenues and boulevards. As well as the gardens and parks, copses of trees and the waterway cutting through the region help to avoid any sense of the setting being overcrowded.

The residential properties here are kept to the outer edges of the region to offer those renting them with a sense of personal space. If I understand things correctly, these units – taking the form of large classical French townhouses as might be found in Paris – are available to volunteer mentors and new users who wish to remain a part of the community.

The Landing Point sits within the small business district with boutique-style shops focused on fashion, couture and avatar customisation, together with gallery spaces to introduce newcomers to SL’s art scene, and similar.  It is rounded-off by the local café,  which joins with the dancing / music / games square towards the centre of the setting, the restaurant to east with its outdoor terrace / dance area build over the waters of a small cove, and the pool, spa and beach to the south-west as the major event and activity spaces.

Dreamer’s Landing – new user homes, February 2025

Getting around the ground level is easy enough on foot, but the various areas are also linked by the Dreamer’s Landing teleport system which also provides access to the region’s sky platforms. These include:

  • The Education Centre – where classroom lessons can be obtained for those who prefer them, together with self-help guides (touch the bookcases), and residents can apply for volunteer and paid jobs within the community (ads for these can also be found on the ground level). This level also includes the Dreamer’s Landing passport centre and a gifts centre to help new users to get started.
  • The Sandbox – where community members can unpack boxed items they have obtained, practice building, etc., and where community paintball games might be held.
  • The Walk-in Closet – offering space for users to sort their inventory, try outfits, learn about (and purchase) web-based inventory management systems, change their appearance / adjust the positioning of non-rigged attachments  and try them out with various poses, etc., with with the assistance of others or in private changing facilities if they prefer.
Dreamer’s Landing – Education Centre, February 2025

And of course there is the new user free housing. This takes the form a chalet-style housing spread over a sky platform with light landscaping, with personal touches added by the Dreamer’s Landing team, such as a sign welcoming incoming users to their new home and small outdoor community spaces as well.

We currently have 24 free homes for new residents, with about half occupied. Each house is supplied with furnishings and décor, and have an additional 50 LI for personal use. However, if someone wants to have the supplied furniture removed, they can, and that will give them up to 100 LI for personal use. Houses are generally supplied for a two-month period to help people get started, although this might on occasion be extended according to circumstance.

– Fire3850, co-founder, Dreamer’s Landing

Dreamer’s Landing – new user homes, February 2025

From my multiple visits to Dreamer’s Landing, I can personally attest to the friendliness and helpfulness of the folk at Dreamer’s Landing – both established and those who are more recent to Second Life and have volunteered to help within the community. If you know of any recent arrivals to Second Life who are looking for somewhere they might initially treat as home and be among a helpful community – be sure to direct them towards Dreamer’s Landing. Further information on the community – including the schedule of events and entertainment – can be found at the Dreamer’s Landing website.

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Between the Clouds in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Between the Clouds, February 2025 – click any image for full size

Over the years I’ve covered many of region settings designed by Bella (BellaSwan Blackheart), and have always enjoyed my time exploring them and taking photos. So when I saw via Bella’s Second Life profile that she now has a place called Between the Clouds, I was curious to see what it might be all about.

Sitting within a Full region split into 16 4096 sq metre parcels – something which, as a by-the-by, I haven’t dropped into in a very long time – Between the Clouds is much smaller than Bella’s other settings. As a result, and upon arrival, the setting might be mistaken as a sky build mostly comprising building shells and – other than upper portion of a tower block apparently thumbing its nose at gravity – little else. But first impressions often deceive, and such is the case here: there is a lot going on and waiting to be discovered.

Between the Clouds, February 2025
Welcome to this little hideaway high upon the sky and discover the hidden spots this place has to offer. Feel free to enter the buildings that are accessible and hang out wherever you want. No nudity or any sexual activities please! 

– Between the Clouds About Land description

Take, for example that floating tower block roof area; it forms the setting’s Landing Point, and the rooftop on which people arrive is speckled by colourful paper cranes whilst the roof over the elevator winch room has been imaginatively turned into a little swimming pool.

Between the Clouds, February 2025

The stairs alongside the winch room lead down to the rest of the remnants of the tower – including the upper doors of an elevator shaft. However, given the rest of the building is not longer there, trying to call for the elevator might be a little difficult. Instead, the stairways offers the most immediate route down – but do beware of the last step, it’s a big one (although a paddling pool has thoughtfully been provided to enable incoming bodies to splash down 😀 ).

Further progress to the setting’s street level requires a further leap of faith. Or at least a leap; one which will drop you down into a grassy courtyard with little businesses tucked into it – although most of these appear to have been shuttered and to have seen better days.

Between the Clouds, February 2025

Two routes out of this courtyard are offered; a narrow alley link through to a much larger square, again overgrown with grass and around which various businesses are arrayed on the ground floors of stubby apartment blocks, one of which appears to have never been completed. The second route away from the courtyard is via stairs leading between more squat buildings. However, this doesn’t go too far – but it down offer a route to a couple more of the little spaces set aside throughout the setting for people to sit an pass the time.

What then of all the little details I mentioned? Well, these take many forms – find the right door, and you can take the stairs up to a trio of small apartments being put to various uses, for example. Another door offers a similar upwards climb ending in the rather unsettling sight of a couple of hazmat-suited figures in heavy gas masks apparently observing the square from behind the gaping maws of frameless windows, one of which has an equally not-too-reassuring sign reading FALLOUT SHELTER beneath it. This little tableau, together with the office space in the same building where a monitor screen warns NO SIGNAL PLEASE STAND BY, possibly offer the makings of a narrative for the setting – but I’ll leave you to work out what form any story might take.

Between the Clouds, February 2025

Also in the large square is a sturdy builder’s scaffold; but while there are building blocks on and under it, it now appears to be in support of a stone statue and fountain, adding another mystery to the setting – a mystery furthered by the apparent hints of habitation which suggest whoever lived here may have rapidly departed: bicycles sit in a rack or propped against walls along with a deserted moped; underwear hangs on a washing line; slippers await feet by an armchair and, most intriguingly of all, a pair of glasses holding paper papers with scribbled sketches and partner by an old cell phone and a stagnant cup of tea, as if suddenly abandoned.

Not that the place is entirely devoid of life; beside the two strange figures up in the apartment building, this is a place rich in bird song and the cooing of pigeons; there’s even a big dog apparently awaiting the return of its owner, who appears to have left some handwritten cards and little bear (perhaps a toy for the dog?) on the bench  – and  I’ll leave you to find the other dog 🙂 . Then there are the setting’s cats; around a dozen of them are scattered around, some keeping an eye on things, other catching up on their sleep – and one taking on the role of an unusual star of a television!

Between the Clouds, February 2025

Deceptively engaging, Between the Clouds is one of those locations which demonstrates you don’t have to have a complete region in which to allow your imagine loose; small can be equally as a captivating and photogenic.

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Insomnia: art and being in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Artsville, February 2025: Filipa Emor – Insomnia

Insomnia, or sleeplessness, is a terms which might all have some familiarity with, although its definition covers a broad range of conditions and circumstances in which a person has trouble sleeping. In fact, the conditions under which insomnia can occur are so broad, analysis of the problem through study either by randomised controlled trials or via systematic review can lead to very different outcomes and even biased in findings.

Very broadly speaking, insomnia might be split into insomnia disorder (ID), which might de defined as protracted difficulties in sleeping and obtaining rest which might be tied to specific health / lifestyle / psychological issues, and insomnia symptoms, which refers more to shorter (but equally intense) periods where our sleep is disrupted due to briefer onsets of one or more of the symptoms of insomnia. The latter may run from simply eating a large meal too late in to evening and being unable to sleep while the digestive system continues to chug away through to the more recognised symptoms of insomnia such as a rise in anxiety or fear, and similar emotional condition or when we “can’t turn our brains off” as a result of something that occurred during the waking hours.

Whatever form it takes, between 10% and 30% of all adults can be suffering from insomnia at any given time, and around half of all adults will experience insomnia symptoms of one form or another during the course of a year – with up to 6% of them dipping into ID lasting more than a month.

Artsville, February 2025: Filipa Emor – Insomnia

It is these latter aspects of insomnia which are examined within the individual pieces making up Insomnia, an immersive installation by Bee (Filipa Emor) within a sky Gallery at Artsville. In doing to, the pieces come together to offer a broader perspective on Insomnia Disorder as a whole; one that is perhaps very personal to the artist – but through its individual parts, will doubtless hold meaning for each of us who visit.

Insomnia reminds us that the night is not just for dreams, but also for confronting our deepest thoughts … Each image is a fragment of my sleepless nights, shared to resonate with those who have also stared at the ceiling, chasing sleep.

– Bee (Filipa Emor)

Insomnia is also a genuine tour-de-force of artistic exploration and exposition; the arts and the space within which it is displayed – and designed by the inimitable Konrad (Kaiju Kohime) – combine to present an installation seeped in meaning and metaphor, inviting exploration and provoking contemplation. When visiting, you must have local sounds enabled to fully experience the installation and make sure you are using the Shared Environment; both are essential to this visual and physical journey.

Artsville, February 2025: Filipa Emor – Insomnia

Both the art and the environment are presented in monochrome tones of white and black – appropriate, given the subject – which combine to give sense of chiaroscuro which spreads from the individual pieces of art to encompass the entire installation, increasing the sense of being caught within that strange space and state where we hover listlessly between sleep and wakefulness; a space prowled by thoughts and inner demons intent on preventing us from passing peacefully from the former to the latter as the night hours pass.

Each piece here portrays a different facet of sleeplessness: the longing, the struggle, and the strange beauty of being awake while the world dreams. Insomnia reminds us that the night is not just for dreams, but also for confronting our deepest thoughts.

– Bee (Filipa Emor)

I don’t want to offer my interpretations of the images Bee presents; I have little doubt they will resonate in a personal, intimate way for anyone seeing them. What I will say about them is that they are designed to be touched, fading and brightening in a portrayal of the struggle to find sleep and thought roil within. They also have an order to them, as indicated by the clock display under each one, marking the passage of the night as they progress from the far side of the information board at the landing point, and progress counter-clockwise around the installation’s lower level.

Artsville, February 2025: Filipa Emor – Insomnia

Accompanying the images are quotes on the nature of sleep, restlessness, insomnia and the soul. Some of these also brighten and dim on being touched, in reflection of the flux of being they each represent. Located higher up within the installation, they are reached by stairways and walkways  – as does a bed in one corner. Together these two climbs present metaphors: one for our rising desire to find the sanctuary of sleep as the heartbeat ticking of passing time torment us, and the other the physical act of climbing the stairs to find our bed – possibly accompanied by thoughts of whether it will be to sleep – or to lie trapped in thought.

Beautifully expressive and presented, Insomnia should not be missed.

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The windmills of Zaanse Schans in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Zaanse Schans, January 2025 – click any image for full size

Some 15 kilometres north of central Amsterdam and on the east bank of the Zaan river, sits Zaanse Schans. Today regarded as something of a neighbourhood of Zaandam, it is a place of historic and cultural significance. It is also a destination for tourists, forming as it does a part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

Originally a fortification – or sconce – built during the country’s Eighty Years’ War for independence from Spain, it became particularly famous in the modern era after a huge preservation operation was put into motion in the 1960s through early 1970s. This saw traditional Dutch Zaanse houses and windmills considered to be of cultural and historic value being carefully uplifted and moved from the area referred to as the Zaanstreek, north of Amsterdam, and relocated at Zaanse Schans, where they joined two windmills already in existence on the bank of the river there.

Zaanse Schans, January 2025

Today, backed by tulip fields, Zaanse Schans is home to  around a dozen windmills, seven museums, craft shops, historic Zaan-style houses, public gardens, and so on, all linked together by footpaths, cycle tracks, bridges, and waterways to offer an informative and cultural visit.

But most famously of all, there are the dozen windmills, many of which are also open to visitors, and which collectively demonstrate some of the many different uses to which these mills were put: cutting wood, grinding chalk, grinding seeds to make oil – even making paint! They stand as a living reminder of a time when wind was a major source of power, and when the region in which they stand was once home to an estimated 600 windmills to form a vital part of Netherland’s economy.

Zaanse Schans, January 2025

Even the names of the mills at Zannse Schans are somehow magical, breathing further life into them: De Bonte Hen (an oil mills dating back to 1693); De Zoeker (an oil, paint, and cocoa mill); De Kat (built in 1781, and the only working paint making windmill in the world); De Gekroonde Poelenburg (a Dutch paltrok mill, specifically design for sawing wood, and one of only five of it kind to survive to this day); and so on. Along the Zaanse, they stand brightly painted and well-maintained, and for those of us in Second Life who cannot get to see them first-hand, Jade Koltai presents a setting inspired by their timeless presence with her latest region design, Zaanse Schans.

Caught under a slowly brightening morning sky with the lowlands seeping mist into the air above them, this is an immediately visually engaging design. Visitors are greeted on one side by neat rows of tulips marching across the region, and on the other by the shadowy forms of four tall windmills guarding what might be taken as the bank of the broad river, the far side of which is little more than a misty silhouette. Like those of the real Zaanse Schans, not all of these windmills are the same, although all four carry their hoods and sails, some turning lazily in the breeze.

Zaanse Schans, January 2025

Rutted trails border the tulips in their field, and like the tracks and paths of its physical world namesake, these trails can be cycled along, courtesy of the rezzer near the landing point, or one can walk across the grassland to the windmills, all but one of which offers sitting of some from without itself or close by. Further places to sit await discovery along the banks  of the “river” and the bays to either side, the walk / ride to them allowing visitors to engage in a little bird-watching along the way.

One of these places to sit appears to have been set-up by an angler eager to get an early start on a day’s catch; four fish already lie in a crate for transport home, while the little makeshift bohemian bench and sun shade they’ve erected is a cosy spot for two. Elsewhere, bees are being cultivated for their honey, their hives adorned with flowers to reduce their journey time, and the air is rich with the early morning calls of birds eager to start their day.

Zaanse Schans, January 2025

No Zaan-style houses are to be found here; instead something of a counterpoint between ancient and modern is offered: across the fields from the old windmills, three giant wind turbines raise their slender fingers to the sky, their great blades turning slowly.

Whilst the old windmills with their four sails apiece might not fool Alonso Quijano into thinking he was facing giants, one wonders what he might make of the great towers and pumping arms of the wind turbines. Indeed, seeing them across the fields perhaps causes another pause for thought: the windmills of Zaanse Schans have stood for around 400 years; would our our modern alternatives stand nearly so long?

Zaanse Schans, January 2025

Atmospheric and best seen under its Shared Environment, photogenic, tranquil and perfectly stated, Jade’s Zaanse Schans is an absolute delight to visit and see. Those wishing to rez props for photographs should join the local group (but please clean-up after!).

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Art and Tree Stories in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
IMAGOLand Art Gallery: Mareea Farrasco – Tree Stories

Tree Stories is the title of an exhibition of paintings by Mareea Farrasco she is hosting within one of the gallery spaces within her IMAGOLAND art gallery space. On display are 16 images featuring trees or which include elements of wood, each one very much a single-frame story and / or commentary on life and its history, folding into itself explorations of ideas and notions in a manner that ins intentionally provocative.

Tree are an integral part of our daily lives in various ways – whether through their tangible physical presence in our surroundings, remarkable in their singularity or as part of forests, orchards and more. They have served humanity from the very beginning through their wooden materiality, fulfilling our needs, and they continue to inspire through their spiritual significance as cultural, social, historical, mythical and artistic symbols. The Tree Stories exhibition offers a partial and subjective perspective on some of the forms and meanings of this nearly omnipresent object and concept.

– Mareea Farrasco

IMAGOLand Art Gallery: Mareea Farrasco – Tree Stories

Simply and directly painted in a marvellously minimalist style, each piece is rich in dualities of context; a visual agent provocateur, so to speak, to stir our grey matter. Each image offers a simple surface message – which might be a reflection on the simple role of the tree as a symbol of life and growth or beauty and comfort, or something similar – together with a deeper, potentially provocative commentary on our complex and often violent relationship with religion and spirituality.

To take just one example: Temptation. The tree and apple speak to the ability of trees to provide sustenance for us through the provision of fruits, whilst almost bringing to might the myth of the tree of knowledge of  good and evil (or more literally, “of everything”), and all that followed it within the tale of Genesis; thus, the tree can be seen as having been with us – in terms of the Biblical history of mankind – from the very beginning.

IMAGOLand Art Gallery: Mareea Farrasco – Tree Stories

Engaging, complex, rich in symbolism, Tree Stories opened on January 27th, 2025, and will remain open for at least a month.

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