Category: Reviews

Solo Arte: “explore and enjoy” in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Solo Arte

Opening on Friday, September 14th, 2018 at 13:00 SLT is a new group art installation at Solo Arte curated by Terrygold and Melania (MelaniaBis), Featuring an ensemble cast of artists, it has been given the informal title of explore and enjoy.

Those participating in the exhibition cover the realms of both 2D and 3D art, and comprise Oema, Terrygold, Jill Agresti (Jillx), Solkide Auer, Judy Barton (Mitla), Giovanna Cerise, Desy Magic, Annalisa Muliaina, Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau), Eupalinos Ugajin, Ciottolina Xue, and Moke Yuitza.

Solo Arte: Oema

The setting for the exhibition is rather unique, a three-dimensional space that initially appears as a rooftop garden, dotted with large hollow spheres, each of which contains (or will contain) an element of 3D art by some of the artists, together with some additional buildings and a little stream flowing between rocks and cliffs. However, there is more here than meets the eye: under the garden are numerous spaces, some of which can be glimpsed from above, others of which are fully enclosed and hidden, where more art and other points of interest can be found. Getting around these forms something of a mystery tour, making a visit to this installation a journey of discovery.

The spheres are intended to be worlds of their own – each has at least one entrance / exit, and visitors are invited to step inside them and become fully immersed in the art within. The dioramas and vignettes may come with explanatory text, or may stand alone or – as in at least one instance – share a poetic theme with the words of Jill Barton, whose poetry, inspired by the space, can be found on media boards to one side of the rooftop area under the eaves of a building.

Solo Arte: Ciottolina Xue

Once inside a sphere, you are fully enclosed in the space to generate a feeling of immersion – and which also makes finding your way back out a little interesting if you get turned around inside! But for a deeper sense of immersion, I suggest trying first-person view whilst within a sphere. Note that to fully appreciate some of the art, you must have your viewer’s Advanced Lighting Model option (Preferences > Graphics) enabled. Shadows are also recommended as being enabled when visiting – but I would suggest that this is a more optional requirement, depending on how well or otherwise your viewer performs with shadows enabled.

The 2D art is more traditional displayed on the walls of the lower levels of the structure. These have been designed in such a way that each 2D art area is at least partially open to the natural daylight of the environment (using the local windlight or setting your viewer to sunset is recommended). Maddy’s and Desy’s art is set out so as to appear in garden style environments, while Oema’s is in more of a built-out area that forms the main route into the lower levels from the rooftop garden when exploring on foot.

Solo Arte: Maddy

To fully get around the installation however, requires the use of the Teleport Anywhere Doors that can be found throughout the build. I particular, one of these is located alongside the location for Jill’s poetry, and another on the lower level of Oema’s 2D art display. Together, these two doors form (depending on which you use first) the start / end point for a journey through the installation, passing from display area to display area – including one tucked away deep inside the build, where more 3D can be found.  Nor is this all; also hidden down inside the build – and accessible on foot, should you spot the tunnel – is an underground events / bar area.

With Nessuno Myoo and Kicca Igaly due to join the exhibition during its run, this is a creative approach to displaying art that makes for an engaging and fun, as well as visually impressive, visit.

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Cica’s The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Opening on September 13th, 2018, is Cica Ghost’s latest art installation The Girl Who Cried Wolf, which as she notes is something of a play on the Aesop fable, the Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Within the piece, the wolf has already arrived, and can be found chasing the sheep over hill and dale, hoping for a meal. And where is the shepherd boy, who should be watching over them?

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Well, unlike the original fable, in which his calls for help are ignored after previously pranking the village into believing a wolf was after their sheep when no such thing was happening, he’s off playing his little flute. Instead, it’s left to a little girl from the village to raise the alarm – shouting for the shepherd boy, who refuses to budge from his perch on a rock.

Within the setting are a number of Cica’s familiar sitting points where visitors can involve themselves in the story (mouse over some of the animals and furnishings to be found in the setting and you’ll discover them), and which offer a little sense of fun to the tale.

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Looking at the core of the scene, it is perhaps tempting to look for a deeper meaning within it, or to perhaps ascribe some kind of political undertones to it. But neither is Cica’s intent at all; in fact she makes it clear that when it comes to politics, she has no time for the subject, “and I don’t bring politics into Second Life.” she states firmly.

Instead, this is a setting born entirely of the creative process. “I made that scene with sheep and wolf first,” she told me, “And it reminded me of that fable.”And the switch to having a girl raising a warning of the wolf’s arrival? “I wanted the shepherd boy playing a flute,” Cica says, “so I made the girl.”

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

And thus a simple, charming update to a famous tale has been made. One in which, the shepherd boy is more interested in playing his flute than in watching over the sheep – leaving it to the little girl to raise the alarm. But ien’t wanting to be off pursuing his own interests rather than the work assigned to them by their elders typical of many little boys?! 😉 .

The Girl Who Cried Wolf will, as with most of Cica’s installations, remain open for around 4 weeks.

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Savor Serenity: here be dragons in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Savor Serenity; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrSavor Serenity – click any image for full size

It’s been a year since we last visited Savor Serenity, the homestead region designed by Gidgy (Gidgette Adagio); since then the region has relocated and undergone something of a rebuild. So when CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinoo) suggested we pay the updated setting another visit, we made time to hop over and take a look.

There is no set landing point for the region – or there wasn’t during our visit  -, so I’ve arbitrarily chosen one here, based on the location of a welcoming note card giver. It’s tucked into the south-west corner of the region, which is actually a good place to start explorations.  The introductory note card offers a quote from John Lennon that perfectly sums up Savor Serenity’s various incarnations:

I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams aren’t as real as the here and now?

Savor Serenity; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrSavor Serenity

Those familiar with the region’s layout from late 2017 might, on camming over / reaching the centre of the land and in considering the region’s windlight and flora, be forgiven for thinking little has actually changed. A familiar pool of water sits at the heart of the region, partially enclosed by what might have once been a fully surrounding octagonal wall, while to the east, steps rise from the waterfront to structures of distinctly elven design. But first looks can be deceptive.

The great Mallorn trees with their elven flets and platforms that once rose from both within and without the flanks of the great wall are now gone, taking with them some of the Tolkienesque feel that Savor Serenity was part of an elven enclave.  In their place are ancient stone buildings, connected by raised paths and stairways wrought of stone and rock.

Savor Serenity; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrSavor Serenity

But these are places seemingly long abandoned; walls are pitted and broken, nature’s vines and trunks and shrubs are slowly laying claim to halls and footpaths. Only etching on the glass of the few remaining glazed windows gives a hint that this one once a realm where elves and beasts lived in harmony. Now, only the beasts show themselves, the dragons of Lennon’s quote.

The largest of these wonderful creatures stand to one side of the great pool, wings magnificently spread, head and long neck lowered and stretched, great mane of spikes raised even has flames curls and flicker from wide-open mouth. It is a stance of warning, of guardianship; a great firedrake protecting the land it still regards as home. It is also a magnificent tableau of which visitors can become a part (suitable clothing advised to fully fit the scene!).

Savor Serenity; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrSavor Serenity

Elsewhere, smaller dragons sit within the ruins of the the stone buildings or guard the waiting throne high under the eastern dome, or offer lamps to light the way through darkling places, and are immortalised – if such beasts are not themselves immortal – in stone throughout. Their presence, together with the glass etchings, give flight to the imagination: just who were the people who once shared this place with these great breasts, and who nurtured them and clearly loved them? And from whence did they come – and where did they go?

And it is not only our imaginations that can take flight; located on the shore close to the great dragon is a sign allowing visitors to summon a winged beast of their own, and to take flight upon its back to experience something of the life and rapport the long-vanished people once enjoyed with their dragons.

Savor Serenity; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrSavor Serenity

Nor is that all. Within this land are secret, treasured places awaiting discovery. Follow the paths paths ruins and under tress and across rocky upheavals to a dragon-topped spire to the north-end, and you’ll find a gallery of CybeleMoon’s magnificent art; veritable tales and fables wrought each within a single image. Should you find your way to the foot of the great wall, you might also find a portcullis offering a way to passages that lead to further secrets in art awaiting discovery, and beyond it, a place to rest with the one with whom you shear your heart – or for just sitting in contemplation alone.

Beautifully conceived and executed, with places throughout  – on land or under it or on the water – awaiting discovery, which places also to sit or to dance, Savor Serenity remains an absolute delight to visit, and a joy for eye and camera to see. Photos can be shared via the Savor Serenity Flickr pool, and donations towards the upkeep of the region are appreciated.

Savor Serenity; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrSavor Serenity

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Avatar studies at Club LA and Gallery

Posted on by Inara Pey
Club LA and Gallery: Lyra Romanas

Now open at Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko ‘冬子’ Amano (Wintergeist), are two small exhibitions by Lyra Romanas and Io Bechir. Both offer avatar self-studies, and whilst very individual in styles and approach; they complement one another in a side-by-side exhibition.

“As an artist, I am first and foremost driven by an inner creative force, something captures my interest, a process takes form and a journey starts towards a finish product,” Lyra says of her work. “I like to explore my creativity through different platforms, such as painting, drawing, sculpturing, graphics, photography, digital art etc. I developed an interest for digital art mainly through SL, a wonderful playground when it comes to creating fantasies and make them come to life in a picture.”

Club LA and Gallery: Lyra Romanas

Contained within a small studies or workspace, the images are presented in a space suggestive of an artist’s workspace, albeit without all the clutter. Thus, in entering this space, it is as though we’re entering Lyra’s own space to appreciate her art even as she is creating.

Of the images, they stand both as individual pieces and also as three stories, each of four frames apiece, and which we are invited to imagine and extend. In this, they are very much reflective of Lyra’s approach to her art: offering pictures that are very much alive, and very much in the moment, as Lyra notes. “I have a formal art education. But when I create I follow no rules or guidelines regarding my art, I just go with what’s right in the moment.”

Club LA and Gallery: Io Bechir

Across the hallway can be found Io’s selection of art, which might be considered NSFW, involving nudity as it does. I’ve been a fervent admirer of Io’s work since first encountering it, and am always pleased to have the opportunity of seeing more of it. Her self-portraits are always richly evocative and rich a narrative, and the seven images she presents here more than demonstrate this.

Each of the seven has its own story to tell, but I confess that of all of them, Three Hours Early (seen above, right) utterly captivated me; the composition of the image is simply sublime, and the depth of emotion caught within it utterly stunning.

Club LA and Gallery: Io Bechir

Both Io and Lyra will be on display at Club LA through until October, and can currently be seen alongside the photography of Carolyn Phoenix / Sirenis, which I reviewed in August 2018.

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Opening a Storybook in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest – click any image for full size

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be very intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

– Albert Einstein

The first sentence of this quote is to be found in Storybook Forest, the second of two regions designed by Nessa Zamora (Noralie78), and which Caitlyn and I visited recently as a result of a suggestion by Miro Collas (the other being Lost Unicorn Forest Sanctuary which, along with Lost Unicorn Gallery (designed by Jennifer May Carlucci (JenniferMay Carlucci), you can read about here). At the time, I noted that Storybook Forest deserved a post of its own – so here it is.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

As the opening quote and the name of the region suggest, this is very much a place focused on the fairy stories and a love of books and reading.  Linked to Lost Unicorn Forest Sanctuary by a bridge that also doubles as the region’s landing point, Storybook Forest is another immersive environment rich in detail. Like Lost Unicorn, it is richly wooded and divided into islands. In places the walls and towers of a fairy tale castle compete with the trees in matters of height. In others the trees, with paths and trails winding under their boughs, are left to their own devices.

Within the walls of the castle, just beyond the landing point is a village teeming with animal folk waiting in greeting for visitors. They have taken Einstein’s words to heart: everywhere are books of poems, fairy tales and adventures – there’s even a little library in the shape of a shelf of books! Wonderfully cluttered yet carefully laid out, it is the first hint of the care Nessa has taken in bringing things within the region together to create what feels like a story in and of itself.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

A second arched gateway leads the way further into the region, but I urge you to spend time  taking the longer of the two routes to it, so that all of the delights of the village might be seen – and there are a lot, not all of them immediately obvious. When you do reach this second gateway, you’ll find it guarded by a dedication:

To the boy or girl who reads by flashlight
Who sees dragons in the clouds
Who feels most alive in worlds that never were
Who knows magic is real
Who dreams.

This is for you.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

As well as a dedication, it stands as an invitation to let go of adult things, embrace our imaginations and let them roam free alongside us through the rest of the region, and immerse ourselves in all it offers and brings to mind.

And there is so much to find here: from Peter Pan – delightfully encapsulated in a little diorama using figurines by Silas Merlin – to Cinderella, complete with pumkin-turned-coach, to Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White (complete with an interesting twist on the Seven Dwarves!). Each tale and fable is presented in its own setting, reached via winding trails than offer hints of other stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince and Bambi, and further little vignettes of local characters and creatures.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

Central to these vignettes is a certain tea party, set against a backdrop of water falls, presided over by a “Deppian” (so to speak) Mad Hatter, with a White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and – of course – a young Alice – all in attendance. There are further elements and hints of Lewis Carroll’s tale to be found here – the deck of cards with a heart on prominent display, the sign post (which admittedly can be found elsewhere), and a rabbit hole with its invitation to jump down it. This should be heeded for an extra – if brief – adventure fully In keeping with the theme of the setting.

As well as a the vignettes and dioramas retelling their tales, Storybook Forest offers many places where visitors can sit and allow memories wash over them or have their imagination take flight – or rest their avatars while their camera takes flight across the landscape. These places can be found scattered through the woods, out on the waters than split the land and – in the case of a harpsichord awaiting a player – up atop Cinderella’s tower.

Storybook Forest; Inara Pey, September 2018, August 2018, on FlickrStorybook Forest

A delight for the eye and the imagination, Storybook Forest has been beautifully conceived and executed, forming a marvellous destination either on its own (which I recommend, if only to give it the time it deserves whilst exploring, and to avoid any overloading of the eye and imagination), or as a part of a broader visit that encompasses Lost Unicorn Forest Sanctuary and the lost Unicorn Gallery. When visiting, please consider making a donation to the region’s continued existence via the little book piles scattered throughout the land.

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More art at the Astral Dreams Project

Posted on by Inara Pey
Astral Dreams Project

The Astral Dreams Project has opened a further round of artist exhibitions. As I noted in July, when the installation first opened in July, the aim of the installation, itself a reproduction of the Piazza di Spagna in Rome, was to celebrate Italian arts and creativity in Second Life. However, for the latest exhibition, Oema Resident, the installation’s curator, has thrown her net a little wider.

Astral Dreams Project: Giovanna Cerise

Occupying the two 3D galleries (one of which occupies to location of the Keats-Shelley Memorial House) are home to exhibitions by JadeYu Fang and Giovanna Cerise. Both are striking artists, perhaps best known for thematic installations of their own.

For Astral Dreams, both offer pieces that appear to be influenced by some of those installations pieces. Giovanna, for example, includes a piece reminiscent of Clinamen Read here for more) and an element of From the Worlds to the World (read here for more). Meanwhile, JadeYu includes pieces that are reminiscent of her OpeRaAnxiEty (read here for more) among the selection of pieces for her exhibit.

Astral Dreams Project: CybeleMoon

Across the piazza, the twelve 2D art spaces present works by nabrej Aabye (physical world art); Dido Haas (avatar studies); Cullum Writer (physical world digital art); Kiana Jarman (avatar studies); CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinoo) – mixed media / SL photography); Megan Prumier (avatar studies); Skip Staheli (avatar studies); Nekotto (avatar studies); Ambre (Ambre Singh) – avatar studies; Lam Erin (waterscapes); Naiike (avatar studies) and Ful Macchi (landscapes).

Of these artists, I confess to be drawn to the images and imagery of CybeleMoon – who creates the most fantastic stories through her art; the remarkable studies by Dido Haas, who has a way of capturing the very life of her avatar; the fabulous digital forms by Cullum Writer; and Lam Erin’s painting-like landscapes and waterscapes.

Astral Dreams Project: Cullum Writer

Which is not to say I don’t have an appreciation of the work by the other artists; truth be told, all over something eye-catching or unique. Together they all make an interesting exhibition, one that will be open through until at least the end of the month.

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