Lyric Art Gallery – Black and White: Ebcy Clift (l) and Boone Blanco
Opening on Saturday, January 5th, 2019 at the Lyric Art Gallery is Visual Feast: Black and White, an exhibition featuring over 30 artists (and for which I’m kicking myself, as I was invited to participate… and then forgot!). Each of those artists participating was asked to submit and image on the theme of winter landscapes, although some of the art displayed takes a slightly different turn on presentation, with several pieces, while monochrome, focused on avatars.
Exhibitions like this are often an interesting way of getting to see work by artists / photographers with whom you might not be familiar or otherwise get to see – or to re-acquaint oneself with the work of artists not seen in a while. Such is the case for myself, in coming across First Touch by Leonorah Beverly, and artist whose work I only recently encountered for the first time, instantly finding her landscape work instantly captivating. With First Touch, whilst not a landscape, demonstrates her skill in presenting an evocative story within an image.
Lyric Art Gallery: Emma D’Souza (l); Beccha (c) and Leonorah Beverly
Within those pictures that keep more-or-less to the theme of winter landscapes, these is a fascinating mix; from “straight-forward” pieces with fields of snow or trains chugging between snow banks, or houses sheltering under thick blankets of snow, through to more subtle views of winter: snowflakes drifting through an open window (Black and White by Beccha); or wonderfully atmospheric, with a bridge caught under a sullen sky; the clouds portents of cold weather (Bridge Over Troubled Water by Mishe Mactavish).
The avatar studies are equally broad ranging, with several encompassing the winter theme as the setting, others focused purely on the avatar(s) imaged. While it is not surprising avatars get to feature in some of the images – we can be much a part of a winter setting as fir trees, snowmen and frozen ponds -, I admit to being surprised at the number of images that more-or-less eschew the winter theme (or present it only minimally) in favour of presenting a portrait, either completely or to a greater degree. Which is not to say any of them are any the less captivating – I found Pure by Andre Mascot (Snouman) particularly striking, for example.
Lyric Art Gallery: Gwen Enchanted (L); Gustaf (pv544); Fenn MacMoragh (r)
All told a very eclectic, engaging exhibition that offer more of a mix than might be expected from the invitation / greeter description. For those able to attend, the official opening will take place at 11:00 SLT, on Saturday, January 5th, 2019, with music by DJ Fae.
Update: in keeping with Serene and Jade’s usual approach of maintaining a region design for approximately a month after opening, Rummu has closed. SLurls have therefore be removed from this article.
The start of a new year brings with it the opening of a new region design by Serene Footman and Jade Koltai, and once again they present a vision of a place few of us may ever get to see in the physical world. Rightly renowned for their work in reproducing Furillen (read here), Khodovarikha (read here), La Digue du Braek (read here), Isle of May (read here) and Black Bayou Lake (read here), they now present a setting with deep historical and cultural meaning, harkening back to the era of the Soviet Union: the Rummu quarry, located in Estonia.
Called simply Rummu in Second Life, the region completely captures the heart and soul of Rummu quarry and some of its surroundings. beautifully encapsulating them within the confines of a 256 square metre setting.
It was the location of a quarry from the 1930s until the early 1990s. More notoriously, Rummu was the site of a Soviet prison, whose inmates formed the majority of the quarry’s workforce … Rummu quarry was essentially a labour camp in which prisoners were forced to work and to endure brutal treatment from guards who barely spoke their language.
After Rummu prison was closed, the quarry ceased operating. The site was flooded and another remarkable story began. The prison itself now lay hidden beneath a lake that slowly became a well-known Estonian beauty spot, drawing many visitors who wanted to swim and dive in its crystal clear waters. In summer, this place resembles a city beach, packed with bathers.
It is as this modern beauty spot (still used today, despite bathing and swimming in the quarry having been banned) that Jade and Serene have recreated Rummu, and they’ve done so with remarkable detail.
In the physical world, the quarry sits within a heavily wood region and is immediately identified by a massive spoil tip from the quarry excavations, which forms a man-made table mountain rising above what is now the meandering lake. Sitting close to the spoil tip are a number of building shells, some rising directly out of the flood waters filling the quarry, others sitting on the shoreline, all now battered and broken since the quarry’s closure in the 1990s, and the natural flooding of the quarry pit that followed (the prisons themselves – Rummu and Murru prison, which Serene references in his own write-up about the location, – actually continued to operate through until 2012, after being merged into one in 2001, and then with the nearby Harku women’s prison in 2004).
Rummu
All of this is wonderfully recreated within the Rummu build, right down to the rills and channels created by water that flows down the flanks of the spoil tip as a result of regional rainfall, and the low, sandy-like spaces where Estonians come to enjoy the summer Sun between dips in the deep waters. Also captured within the build is the fact that rather than merely standing as derelict shells or as diving platforms for daring leaps into the waters below, the buildings also became the home of an impromptu outdoor art gallery, their walls home to large fresco-like paintings and graffiti.
Nor is the build restricted to reproducing what lies above the waters; when the quarry naturally flooded after work within it ceased (the quarry had to be continuously pumped during its operational life in order to prevent it filling up with water), many of the buildings it contained, together with equipment, ended up underwater.
Rummu
These drowned remains give the physical world Rummu prison something of an eerie, ethereal feel, as they can often be seen from above the surface. And it is these submerged buildings and other reminders of the quarry’s past that have also in part been reproduced within Serene’s and Jade’s build. Somewhat hidden from any overhead view when using the default windlight, they lie within a haze that gives a great sense of the real quarry’s depth, looming into view much as they would to divers braving the waters of Estonia’s Rummu.
As Serene notes, almost all the LI for the region is used up; ergo there is no public rezzing available – but there are a lot of places to sit and enjoy the surroundings – including a dive platform that appears to have been drawn from this video of the quarry, and which again adds to the overall setting. There are also a number of interactive elements to be found as well, including two places where you can dive, a zip line slide and a pedal boat rezzer.
Rummu
But why pick on a place that once harbours such human misery? I think Serene explains it perfectly:
We were drawn to the place by its contrasts: between past and present, between what lies above and below the water, between freedom and captivity, between beauty and brutality. We also liked Rummu’s bohemian vibe: there is something carefree and illicit in the way that visitors use it, painting murals on the walls of the buildings one can see, and staging impromptu parties and music events.
To give you a flavour of Rummu as it appears today, and just how carefully Serene and Jade have recreated it, I’ll leave you with a short video of the quarry. Do remember that the setting will not in in-world forever, so a visit is strongly recommended, and photos can be shared on the Rummu Flickr group.
Now open at the Lin C Art Gallery, curated by Lin Carlucci, is an exhibition by ViktorSavior, presenting a three-part mix of his art, and which makes for an interesting visit.
On the ground floor, and directly inside the main doors, Viktor offers 21 of his physical world paintings of the natural world. I’m not sure of the medium used, although they appear to perhaps be watercolours, they offer wide open views of land, sea and the night sky, with a particular emphasis on mountains, and with a lean towards the use of blue.
Each of the paintings might have been inspired by a physical world location, either personally seen or viewed through image or photograph, or which might be entirely drawn from the imagination. Which they are hardly matters, as each piece has its own story to tell. Expressive of a love of the night, the dawn, mountains (something to which I can very much relate, as I have a love of mountains myself and they are one of the few things I can actually draw in a meaningful way!), and nature as a whole.
These are paintings that, if you give them a chance, will draw you into them, placing you on a windswept coast where the wind and unseen rocks pull the sea into rearing, frothing beasts; where a river winding down through woodland draws you to wonder what lies beyond the mountains from which it has come, or where the night sky beckons from the mountain tops, or the Sun warms a winter’s blanket, and clouds tower into the sky in reflection of the majesty of the mountains below.
Also on the ground floor of the gallery is a series of 18 avatar portraits offered in monochrome and apparently drawn by hand, rather than rendered from photographs. All but four are of female avatars, and all beautifully and simply capture their subjects in a manner not far short of perfect. There is a level of life and emotion within each study that offers a glimpse of possible thoughts and feelings behind the eyes. In a word, they are vibrant in a way perhaps more normally seen in colour images.
This vibrancy continues on the gallery’s mezzanine level, where a further 18 monochrome images are presented, these all full-body images of the male body in motion, most likely dancing at the time the image from which the drawing originated was captured. There is a wonderful sense of dynamic fluidity in each, a grace that speaks of human, not avatar, movement and actions.
The three aspects of this exhibition offer a mix that is rich in its diversity, giving insight into Viktor’s art as eloquent as any biography. There is much to be admired throughout the exhibition, and the paintings are all available for sale. However, were I to be asked, I would have to admit I found myself particularly drawn to the portrait studies, as I found them to be marvellously alive.
Maison de L’amitie – click any image for full size
Update September 2019: Maison de L’amitie has relocated.
It’s been more than eight months since our last visit to Corina Wonder’s Homestead region, Maison de L’amitie. At that time, the region presented an eye-catching reproduction of Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni (about which you can read more here). Since then, things have returned to Corina’s more “usual” landscape designs, and for winter 2018 / 2019, it currently offers a suitable setting with which to launch this year’s Exploring Second Life series.
The great joy with Corina’s landscapes is that they present setting that was wonderfully natural and which encourage exploration without making demands on visitors; rather they encourage a gentle stroll, generally with opportunities for sitting and chatting / cuddling. Such is the case with this winter look, which comes with something of a Nordic feel.
Maison de L’amitie
Set between two parallel lines of off-sim snowy mountains, both of which encroach well into the region’s west and east sides, visitors are presented with a rocky splinter of land facing a narrow channel of icy-looking water to the west and open sea to the south. Sitting at the feet of tall rocky fingers that form a jumbled parade of cliffs, a snow-covered road runs south from the landing point and its little frozen pond and nearby open-air seating area, past a cosy-looking stone cabin sheltering under the high cliffs, before vanishing around a distant curve.
Wooden fencing separates the path from the cold waters, and lanterns hang from silver birch that march down the road, lighting the way as reindeer passively watch all the comings and goings. The cabin offers a warm welcome for those feeling the chill, with Wellington boots arranged on the porch and, more particularly, a fire burning in the outside hearth, wooden chairs ranged before it. A bicycle lies in the snow, partially buried, suggesting recent fall, while inside signs of homeliness can be found with food being prepared and paintings mounted on easels.
Maison de L’amitie
Follow the road south, however, and it will lead you to a view of the local lighthouse. Past a squeeze between the roadside fence and a truck loaded with fir trees, you’ll find why I refer to the region having a Nordic feel. As the path curls around the southern headland, so it leads to a fjord-like channel, sitting between two further walls of cliffs separated by a finger of icy water.
Here the path runs directly over the water, raised above it on concrete bricks, to arrive at a welcoming brick-built house. This is, like the stone cabin, backed against the high cliffs and affords a view of the waterfall feeding the fjord from its closed end. Despite the freezing look of the water, otters are at play, swimming and curiously examining the kayaks moored not far from the foot of the falls.
Maison de L’amitie
Nor is this all. Atop the canyon rocks are places to sit and cuddle – although I confess, we didn’t actually find a physical way up to them. As a landing point is set, an attempt to double-click teleport won’t work, and the only alternative appears to be to select one of the sit points; but we might have missed something.
A simple, wild setting, I’d perhaps have liked to see the east side rocks more naturally blend with the mountains behind them, if only to present a more natural look, but that is just me. For those who wish to rez props for use with photos, a land group is available to join – simply touch the board at the landing point for a link to the group. Photos of the region are welcome at the region’s Flickr group, should you opt to share them.
Bedrich Panacek-Guisse (Bedrich Panacek), co-owner of Ville de Coeur, invited me to visit a new art exhibition in the catacombs beneath the Citadel Gardens.
Among Angels is a story in art presented by JannaWhiskers. It depicts a conversation between a small girl and her mother on the subject of Angels. Images are presented in order, each with an accompanying text element relating the unfolding story. As such, it’s important to follow the directions through the catacombs from the entrance – although this is not hard.
Janna was offered the opportunity to hold the exhibition after winning the Ville de Coeur Autumn Photo Competition. She presents some 30 images, not all of which have an associated text element, but they are all presented in a golden finish that can make details a little hard to discern at times, but which also brings a heavenly, other-worldly look to each, and is perfectly reflective of how we often imagine angels as being creatures of light.
The dialogue is presented in two colours: yellow (or gold, if you prefer), for the young girl, and red for her mother. Their words are woven into a mother / daughter discussion that might be seen as typical of many in the way it reflects the bond of love between the two, but which also reveals more. The child’s perception is clear and through her questions, she not only touches upon, but gently reveals, her mother’s own beliefs and – faith?
As such, this is an evocative exhibition, one that is ideally suitable to the way it is presented through the halls of the catacombs, the route bringing to life the walk taken by mother and daughter as they talk. A walk given added depth through the inclusion of figurines by Silas Merlin, that offer a further sense of presence and company – or childhood – through the exhibition.
Places to sit are also offered through the halls, allowing visitors time to contemplate the art and appreciate the nuances of the story and the parental / child relationship. In addition, Janna offers a series of wire-frame gift boxes, each of which will present a gift when touched.
A touching exhibition, I couldn’t help but hear Robbie Williams’ Angels, some the lyrics seemed to aptly fit the theme of the exhibition.
And through it all she offers me protection A lot of love and affection Whether I’m right or wrong And down the waterfall Wherever it may take me I know that life won’t break me When I come to call, she won’t forsake me I’m loving angels instead.
Open until the end of January 2019 at The Womb, the basement gallery space at DiXmiX Gallery, is Art Neveux, by Nevereux, and which I assume is a little play on her name and the term art nouveau.
A selection of constructs that offer 3D works designed to appear almost two-dimensional, this a somewhat difficult selection of art to quantify, being very subjective in nature – as Nevereux herself notes:
Design is fine. History is mine. An argument for art. Prim-cakes and some technology. Around the corner there is some extreme context. Others, so deliberately meaningless. If you want, it’s slathering jam on a toast. Sticking just for fun. And may whatever holds you up stay forever beneath you.
These are all pieces that are decidedly geometric in nature, presented in black and white, with red at times putting in an appearance. The net result is a series of stark – in the sense of their boldness – pieces that nevertheless have within them a sense of balance. Whilst art nouveau may well be suggested by the exhibition title, I’d perhaps lean towards its presence in the works here being only in a very modern interpretation; I tended to look on many of the pieces as being more abstract in nature, with some also carrying art deco motifs.
What I did find particularly interesting is the manner in which much of the art has been constructed. Rather than being completely original, most of the individual pieces are in fact constructs put together using building components by the likes of VetronUK, Chaser Haks and Isabelle Stoop. There is nothing wrong with art being created in this way, it happens all the time in the physical world; however, seeing the manner in which building components have been used within these pieces did have me recalling a discussion around an installation by another artist (and in another place) from earlier in the year.
Within that other installation, use was made of a series of mesh items readily available via the SL Marketplace, with little or no change made to them beyond outside of some retexturing. This led to a question being raised on whether the inclusion of such elements constituted “fair use”, and whether they justified the installation as a work of art; the argument being that their use hadn’t been sufficiently “transformative” to warrant either. It was not a view to which I could agree; I felt the inclusion of such elements was both fair and transformative, simply because they were integral to one’s response to, and interpretation of, the installation as a whole.
Such is the case here. Yes, many of the components used are “off the shelf” mesh shapes and forms designed to assist builders. However, the manner in which they have been brought together within individual pieces is transformative, both in terms of their individual use and in our interpretation of each complete piece.
There is also, in keeping with Nevereux’s own words, a sense of playfulness and illusion about some of the pieces offered (such as Palm Leaf, Belong, Warrior and Perspective, each of which should be cammed over carefully). These perhaps stand in reflection of the artist’s own nature – or perhaps a reminder that perhaps we shouldn’t look to deeply into individual pieces in order to discern “meaning”.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 