Category: Reviews

Cica’s Lullaby in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Cica Ghost: Lullaby

Cica Ghost’s latest installation, Lullaby, opened on Tuesday, December 11th. It’s a curious piece, something of a celebration of the creatures that might be said to come out at night, together with touches of some of Cica’s previous installations.

For the byline to the installation, Cica has chosen the chorus from Lullaby for an Insomniac, by Kate Nash. Sung  acapella (albeit with an instrumental ending) the song fits the installation very well, offering something of a gentle subtext to the setting – although too deep an examination of song and installation should perhaps be avoided.

The idea was first, but I often listen Kate, so maybe it was influence. I listen her often when I work. I made the girl a few days ago; it was only house at first, but then she needed somebody to think of.

– Cica Ghost on Lullaby

Cica Ghost: Lullaby

The girl and house in question, can be found towards the middle of the strangely undulating region, perched on a curious table of rock and reached by a ladder impersonating part of the sine curve. She sits atop the house, staring into the distance, lost in thought, the landscape darkened by a greenish night. Her attitude suits the refrain of the chorus perfectly – a girl who is missing someone, and who finds herself unable to sleep and with little interest in how she looks or the state of her surroundings.

Her indifference to her surroundings is a shame, because across this weird landscape with its abrupt hills and valleys and unusual rock formations, the creatures of the night have all come out to play: flying bugs, spiders, curious worms with friendly, anthropomorphic “faces” courtesy of eyes sitting on slug-like stalks and very human tongues lolling happily, and heart-shaped flowers with large, unthreatening eyes. Even some of the hills have eyes, revealing themselves as the domed heads of creatures nestled far enough underground while still able to see what is happening around them.

Cica Ghost: Lullaby

All of this night, in other circumstances, sound like the stuff of nightmares, particular given the giant snail watching over the landing point – but it is not; it is a night-time setting of playfulness. None of the creatures are in any way nefarious; most are going about their business without concern for whatever else might be happening, although one or two do appear to be a little curious about the stranger in their midst, sitting on her odd perch.

Also to be found in the region are echoes of some of Cica’s past works: a bear stands up on one of the hills, for example. While he may be without a shirt, he and the flittering night bugs bring forth memories of The Bees and the Bears. The three frogs sitting close to the landing point directly reflect Frogs; a spider’s web offers a faint echo of Arachnid, even the girl herself, sitting atop her house, is reminiscent of Moonlight.

And here lies the gentle  – if perhaps unintentional – subtext of the installation. Just as Lullaby for an Insomanic reflects on the things we have and the sentimental value they can have, so do these aspects of Cica’s Lullaby gives those familiar with Cica’s work pause to remember her past installations and the joy and other emotions they gave us when they were present in Second Life.

Cica Ghost: Lullaby – Cica takes flight

There aren’t too many places to sit within Lullaby (they are there, but you’ll have to find them!). Instead, and tucked away on the top of one of the odd stalagmite-like rock formations Cica offers a free flying bug. Simply take it, Add or Wear it, and use the WASD / arrow keys, together with PAGE UP and PAGE  DOWN to fly yourself around.

Lullaby should remain open through until early January for visitors. There are several tip jars scattered around the installation, so do please consider a donation towards this and Cica’s future work in Second Life.

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  • Lullaby (Ai Atoll, rated Moderate)

The seasons at Bay of Dreams in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Bay of Dreams; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Bay of Dreams – click any image for full size

Bay of Dreams is the Full region home of Valor Poses Mainstore and Photo Sim, operated by Keegan Kavenagh (AlexCassidy1). As the name implies, the region offers both a base for the Valor Poses store, and the opportunity to explore a changing environment beyond its doors.

In February 2018 Caitlyn and I visited the region whilst the region offered a summertime look and feel (you can read more about that visit here), so with the end of the year approaching, I thought I’d drop in again to see what had changed.

Bay of Dreams; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Bay of Dreams

Now designed by Adalynne Romano (AdalynneReed) working with Keegan and Tessa Kavenagh (TessaGrace51), the region presents something of a mix of seasons, all within walking distance of one another. For the store, which forms the landing point, and its surroundings, there is a decidedly springtime look and feel.

Occupying a table of land in the south-east of the region, the store is surrounded by a garden setting. The trees and flowers are all in bloom, the grass lush and green, visible through the windows of the store, inviting patrons to step outside. Those who do will find a richly mixed setting, one complete with ruins of different ages and pieces of art – notably by Mistero Hifeng – while horses and deer lay dotted across the lawns.

Bay of Dreams; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Bay of Dreams

The store looks northwards over a low-lying headland dominated by a broad board walk and pier that stretches out over the water, a narrow ribbon of beach running around the north and east side of the headland adding to the feeling that this is the “summer quarter” of the region. Volleyball can be played on the grass, while the board walk and little pier include places to sit and enjoy refreshments.

Between the footbridge leading back to the store and the board walk, a track runs off to the west, following the bent finger of land, serpent-like in its narrowness. This ends in a bridge leading to a small island that in turns links to the south-western side of the region, a grassy quarter clearly caught in the gentle embrace of autumn. Here the trees are rich in golds, brown, oranges and reds. Pumpkins lie on the ground, while the single large barn offers a greeting of Happy Fall.

Bay of Dreams; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Bay of Dreams

The final quarter of the region, reached via “autumn” hosts, appropriately enough, winter. Crowned by a rocky crenelation, this is another plateau within the ring of rock, the land is covered in snow, complete with a frozen pond and with a snow blanketed wooden house of impressive size. This offers plenty of seating inside and out.

Finding your way around the region is simply a matter of following the paths and using the bridges. All four aspects of the setting perfectly present each of the seasons, with a fairly neutral region-wide windlight used for all four. This also works well, but it did have me wondering about how a setting like this, with four different regional settings will look when EEP – the environmental Enhancement Project – has come into common use.

Bay of Dreams; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Bay of Dreams

There are one or two little rough edges – path segments not meeting one another or the landscape here or there; some floating trees together with the odd plain prim or semi-floating rock. But, by-and-large, the design comes together to offer a visually interesting setting. Those wishing to rez props for photograph can join the local group.

For those who might be feeling they’ve seen a little too much snow in Second Life, or who wish to revisit their preferred season, or simply want to experience an entire year in a short walk, Bay of Dreams perhaps offers the perfect visit.

Bay of Dreams; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Bay of Dreams

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Ribong Gallery and The Art of Being

Posted on by Inara Pey
Ribong Gallery

Ribong Gallery is a new exhibition centre developed by San (Santoshima) that opened in December 2018. Located in a large black-walled environment, the gallery offers a mix of exhibition spaces and what might be public areas where people can relax. For the opening, two exhibitions are presented, the overall design of the gallery allowing them to blend together.

The first of is an ensemble exhibition, mixing 2D and 3D art by  Aphrodite Macbain, Bleu Oleander, Bryn Oh, Cica Ghost, Gitu Aura, Grady Echegaray, Harbor (Harbor Galaxy). ini (In Inaka), Kara Mellow, Meilo Minotaur, San (Santoshima),  Storm Nordwind, Theda Tammas, Xirana Oximoxi and Zen Arado. In’s not clear if the pieces on display are the result of invitations to the artists to display their work, or whether they have been drawn from San’s personal art collection.

Ribong Gallery

The 2D art can be found along the walls of the primary display space, just inside the main doors, and within some of the areas that appear set aside for resting and casual chat. The 3D elements can be found around the walls, mounted atop display plinths and  – notably with Cica’s pieces – could be mistaken as part of the setting itself. Thus, careful exploration and study is advised!

The second exhibit  is entitled Big Bang Theory, and features animated photo-sculpture installation utilizing original physical world black and white and light-painted photographs by San herself. This takes the form of a number of large 3D elements located in both the main hall and the upper mezzanine-like level of the gallery. As the name implies, these are gently animated sculptures, each of which features one of San’s photos, the full set of which can be found pinned to the wall at the entrance to the exhibition, but you may need to cam in to see them in detail.

Ribong Gallery: Big Bang Theory

Each of these pieces is multi-faceted and almost hypnotic in their flowing movement, but whether intended to infuse a sense of the beginning of time – as suggested by the title of the installation – or not, I leave up to you. For my part I found them intriguing and – as noted – soothing pieces. Again, to appreciate them fully, I’d recommend careful camming (if you can flycam around the individual pieces, so much the better).

Also to be found on the same platform – but just across the region boundary –  is the Art of Being gallery, featuring the work of Bleu (Bleu Oleander). At the time of my visit it featured Bleu’s imaginative take on art by Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, David Hockney, Adolph Gottlieb, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Jasper Johns and Edward Hopper.

Art of Being Gallery

Also found on the same platform, and beyond Art of Being is the Play as Being theatre, home to the Play as Being group, which defines itself as:

A group of people exploring reality by using our own life as a laboratory. A thought experiment to see what is left if we put down what we have, to see who we are. Can we make conjectures, hypotheses about what Being could be, and play with those in our day-to-day life? What happens when we do?

You can find out more by visiting the Play as Being website, which includes a schedule of weekly events for those wishing to join in.

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Two snowy visits in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Hollyee; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Hollyee – click any image for full size

There are lots of winter themed regions to visit at this time of year – I’ve already covered a number in these pages for 2018. So many in fact, it’s easy to end up with a mild case of snow blindness :). There is often a tendency to use many of the same elements in such builds – the DRD Polar Express train being one such example. So for this write-up, I thought I’d offer a couple of suggestion that are just that little bit different to the others we’ve visited thus far.

Hollyee is a homestead region designed by Agaras, offering a remote, wild winter setting. Surrounded by tall mountains shrouded in snow and mist, the central feature of the setting is an oval large frozen lake, its surface glittering like a star field and broken by a couple of islands.

Hollyee; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Hollyee

The lake is set within a low-lying, wooded landscape, devoid of paths and get trails, but open to wandering under tree and over snow. The entire feeling is that of a remote mountain lake, well away from any major centres of population – but not so far away as to be totally in the wild.

This latter fact can be attested to by the presence of fresh hay that has been left out on the snow, offering horses places to eat, rather than leaving them to  forage under the snow for grass.  Whether the hay has been put out by a local farmer possibly living just beyond the landscape, or by whoever might live in the little A-frame cabin located in the south-east corner of the region, is up to visitors to decide.

Hollyee; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Hollyee

The horses aren’t the only animals to be found scattered across the landscape. Wander through the snow as you circle the ice and you’ll find deer, rabbits, wolves and even polar bears – the latter both real and made from snow! Birds circle overhead while a lone owl hunts between the trunks of the trees. All of them serve to give the region a feeling of added depth, as does the local sound scape.

A skate giver is available close to the landing point, although if you have your own, you can obviously wear them. There are also skating poses available for use for singles and couples skating, while scattered across the landscape are a number of places for sitting and cuddling.

Hollyee; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Hollyee

The second location I want to mention is Winter Dream. located over the home of Solo Arte, it is once again the work of resident artist there, Terrygold. Like Hollyee, Winter Dream presents a wilderness setting, beautiful in its snowbound, rugged beauty. It’s also another place where having local sounds on is essential to a visit.

Also like Hollyee, central to the design is a frozen lake, a flat expanse of ice from which the occasional hump of rock rises, and towards the middle of which a lone tree stands sentinel, boughs raised as if trying to ward off the steadily falling snow.

Winter Dream; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Winter Dream

Around this lake is a rocky landscape, stepping upwards towards a surround rim of low cliffs. Two structures rise from the snow, the largest a two-storey stone-and-wood cabin, facing the landing point across the lake. Closer to hand, just to one side of the landing point and watched over by two snowmen, sits a wooden pavilion. A fire is blazing in the hearth here, with wooden chairs ranged before it, but the open sides suggest it might not be as warm as the fire might otherwise suggest.

The most direct route to the cabin is across the ice – but it’s also the boring way. It’s more interesting to head either north then east towards the cabin, or go east then north. Both routes will lead you via points of interest: deer at a feeder, outdoor seating areas,  – including an old Ferris Wheel (although it could perhaps benefit from blanket to help keep those sitting in it warm! 🙂 ) and so on.

Winter Dream; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Winter Dream

The eastward route will take visitors over some of the ice, which extends around this side of the landscape. So if you have your own ice skates, you might want to make use of them. It also offers a slight climb up to the cabin – but so does the route running north then east from the landing point. Once inside, the cabin offer a place to dance and a break from the weather by the fire places.

Both Hollyee and Winter Dream are quiet, winter settings waiting to be enjoyed. Both are well presented, although each has its own small niggles. Hollyee has a few floating trees and rocks that can make themselves known when taking photos, while the volume of animated mesh snow in Winter Dream can impact performance (particularly if you run with shadows enabled). So do take note when visiting – but don’t let either put you off.

Winter Dream; Inara Pey, December 2018, on Flickr
Winter Dream

Really, if the snow hasn’t gotten to you too much, it’s worth grabbing your skates, wrapping up warm and enjoying either of these quiet wintry corners of the grid.

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Bryn Oh: Jane and Eloise in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Bryn Oh: Jane and Eloise

Jane and Eloise, the latest installation by Bryn Oh officially opens on Saturday, December 8th. As with much of Bryn’s art, this is an immersive installation that carries both a story and a level of interaction – although the latter is perhaps more of a focus than may have been the case with prior pieces.

I wanted to play with the idea of what art can be in the virtual space … In a museum or theatre we stand back and look at a painting or sculpture, we don’t touch them nor interact usually, while in the theatre the movie tells us a story and we sit and listen. We follow the camera where it leads us and should we wish to open a door or look under a bed.. well that is not part of the experience … With this work I wanted to have a short narrative within an artistic environment focusing on colour, line and form but also creating a gamification of the artwork itself.

– Bryn Oh on Jane and Eloise

Bryn Oh: Jane and Eloise

The narrative is that of two sisters – Jane and Eloise – who go fishing on Lake Superior. Theirs is not a happy tale, as they are caught by the changing weather, their boat capsizing on them. Sadly, Jane drowns, witnessed by Eloise, whose life is almost lost as well. Afterwards, Eloise is left tortured by guilt that she survived and nightmares – and the major part of the installation encourages visitors to share in those nightmares and to experience her confusion and distress first-hand.

The first element of the installation is a beach setting – the shoreline of Lake Superior, with changing tents set out on the sand and bathing wagons up to their axles in the water. If you have not previously accepted the Bryn Oh experience (or have revoked it since your last visit), you should accept it when prompted – as it is essential to your participation in the installation.

Travel along the breach and you’ll come to a small vignette depicting the final part of the fishing trip: Eloise, alive, washed up on the shore, the waterlogged canoe drifting just off-shore and Jane, laying just before the waves. Beyond this vignette, out on the horizon, the main part of the installation awaits: the brooding bulk of the maze.

Bryn Oh: Jane and Eloise

The maze is a symbolic recreation of the nightmares that get embedded within our mind after a traumatic experience. It is the mind of Eloise … With a traditional artwork you can then step back and say observe and contemplate [with] this work,  you enter the mind of Eloise and navigate a fairly scary maze trying to find the exit.

– Bryn Oh on Jane and Eloise

Providing you have accepted the experience, arrival at the entrance to the maze should equip you with a miner’s style lamp with head strap. A sign board on the wall near the entrance provides additional information on how best to enjoy it – in short, if you can’t use the recommended windlight (Firestorm should automatically switch to it), make sure you flick your viewer to at least midnight, enable projectors by turning on ALM and remove any face / body lights you are wearing. In difference to the instructions, you don’t need to have shadows enabled to obtain the projected light from the head lamp – but if you can run with them enabled, it adds considerably to the depth of the experience, allowing you to see it exactly as Bryn intended.

Within the maze, are corridors – patrolled by the demons of Eloise’s subconscious – and safe rooms. The idea is to make your way through the corridors, avoiding the monsters with the aid of the safe rooms. It’s a place best experienced in first-person Mouselook, and running may be required at times! In addition, some of the walls of the corridors include paintings, and elements of Bryn’s art can also be found in some corridors and in the safe rooms.

Bryn Oh: Jane and Eloise – exploring the maze with Bryn

Along the way you might find what I call mouse holes. The mouse holes are thin doorways that only a single avatar can squeeze through into another hallway, if a monster is coming you can slip through and they can not follow, but if you are with friends then there might be some frantic pushing and screaming as the monster approaches 🙂 The maze can be scary and cause some anxiety, in tests I have watched people who find mouse holes and linger by them afraid to go further out into the maze.

– Bryn Oh on Jane and Eloise

Bryn invited me to try the maze with her, and I have to confess, it is addictive. If the monsters do get you, you’re teleported back to the start – and they are quite capable of sneaking up behind you! I also recommend having local sounds on; this both allows you to hear the monsters and adds further depth to the piece.

Bryn Oh: Jane and Eloise

This is also a fascinating piece from a technical standpoint as well – and those from the Lab who read this review, I hop you’ll take note of what Bryn has to say vis-a-vis Pathfinding! Essentially, to prevent cheating, the maze rebuilds itself every hour, and as it includes creatures roaming it, it presented special challenges, as Bryn notes:

This work required that a whole new set of scripting was built because other forms would not work with it. For example, pathfinding is a great way to have a monster navigate a maze, except when a maze randomly rebuilds itself. In pathfinding the monster would need to know where each wall is, and then it could move through them.. when you make a new maze every hour the pathfinding creature can’t see those new walls. So a new type of movement had to be created where the creatures would “see” the maze as they move while also looking for people to chase.

– Bryn Oh on Jane and Eloise

All told the development of the maze took some 3 months, and the results are incredible – particularly if you happen to catch the maze rebuilding itself, as I did while exploring with Bryn.

Jane and Eloise has all the classic ingredients from Bryn: narrative, a beautiful use of light and shadow, colour and contrast, interaction and engagement, and despite the sadness of the narrative – offers a game element that when played with others or on your own can get to be addictive.

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Megan Prumier at DiXmiX

Posted on by Inara Pey
DiXmiX Gallery: Megan Prumier

Megan Prumier has been a presence at DiXmiX Gallery since it opened. She is responsible for the galleries’ overall look, some of her work has often been a subtle presence in the gallery. However for December 2018, she takes centre stage at the gallery with a major exhibition of her photography.

Moments of Intimacy is located in the Gallery’s lower floor Black exhibition hall. It is somewhat NSFW exhibition featuring nudity, but this should not overshadow the fact that it is captivating in tone and presentation.

DiXmiX Gallery: Megan Prumier

Some 17 images are present, all self-studies. Each presents a combination of a moment, a mood, an emotion, and / or a feeling – or some combination of these elements. In using just a single character in each piece, Megan presents a series of great personal depth; we are not so much viewing images as sharing in a particular moment of intimacy – be it happy, sad, introverted or extroverted.  In this, the nudity / potential erotic nature of any given image runs somewhat secondary to the story it has to tell.

Taken on its own, this is a remarkable exhibit, one that draws the viewer into the pieces on offer with great subtleness. When taken with Kimeu Korg’s Osmosis De Un Sueño, displayed on the mezzanine level (and which you can read about here), Moments of Intimacy has perhaps the perfect partnership.

DiXmiX Gallery: Megan Prumier

While the two artists are very different in tone and style, and yet they complement one another perfectly in the way in which both resonate at the emotional / mood level. As such, and even if you’ve previously seen Kimeu’s exhibition, I strongly recommend taking the time to see both side-by-side whilst they are both on display.

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