Category: Reviews

Currently open at La Maison d’Aneli Gallery, curated by Aneli Abeyante are two exhibitions, both of which run through until August 16th. The first features Barbara Borromeo and the second, Cherry Manga.

Barbara Borromeo is an artist whose work – much to my shame – was unknown to me until June of 2018, when I gained an introduction to her work. The exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli follows on the heels of that event, and actually contains a number of pieces that were also featured in it as well. However, that there is some repetition doesn’t matter: Barbara’s work is simply extraordinary, and at La Maison, we are additionally treated to more of her physical world art as well.

Several pieces are presented around the walls of the gallery, of which I found myself particularly drawn to Woodstock Hendrix (seen at the top of this article, on the left), and Words Never Said, two remarkable studies full of visual and emotional impact among a tour de force of stunning art that really captures the eye, heart and imagination.

However, it is the main slide show element of the exhibition that really captivates. Using a large screen, Barbara presents a rich cross-section of her portfolio – and it is not to be missed. Photographs and paintings from the physical world are displayed along with images captured from Second Life and – in what makes Barbara’s work fabulous to the eye – collage pieces that appear to combine both Second Life (or at least digital art she has produced) with images from the physical world. Given the number of pieces included in this slide show, use of the provided armchairs is advised – and taking the time to see all of the pieces it has to offer really is worthwhile.

I confess to have fallen for Barbara’s work; her layered collages are among the most creative pieces of artistic expression I’ve seen either in Second Life or the physical world. The compositional work within them is sublime; the subjects evocative and, on occasion, provocative (as art should on occasion be); and the images bring to Second Life the full breadth and deep of a truly extraordinary talent.

Reached via teleport is a skybox featuring 3D art by one of Second Life’s long-standing artists, Cherry Manga, although sadly, she is nowadays rarely active here, preferring to spend her time in the Open Simulator FrancoGrid. As such, opportunities to witness her work in SL are always welcome.

There are actually two teleports to the installation – the teleport disk on the gallery floor, and a poster on the wall. Both deliver you to different sides of the installation, but for convenience, I’d suggest using the disk. Doing so will land you near a selection of Cherry’s art avatars, which she is giving away free. These are located on a cube bearing the legend Freedom and Random Stuff – which I assume refer to the avatars, but might also be the title of the installation itself.

The two primary elements of the installation are side-by-side cubes in which are displayed animated wireframe scenes of marvellous complexity and which could both be taken as commentaries on modern living. The piece on the right (when looking from the side with the free avatars), seems to suggest a figure breaking free from confinement, the overall design of hexagons suggesting he is escaping the hive-like thinking that modern society can demand of us.

To the left, the second cube offers a scene with strong metaphysical elements – and the chance to become a part of it by entering it and clicking on one of the spheres floating within the cube. This piece is perhaps harder to quantify, being strongly subjective. As such, while I have formed an opinion on it,  I’ll leave it to you to visit and to form your own.

A third piece, Freedom, floats and turns above the selection of free avatars. It presents a strong juxtaposition of ideas: the figure may well be floating and “free”, but she retains the chains which may once have confined her. While they are no longer locked or connected to anything, their presence seems to suggest that “freedom” can simply be an illusion – or, more positively – a state of mind to which we can all aspire, and possibly achieve.

Two stunning exhibitions, both of which should be seen before they close on August 16th.

SLurl Details

• La Maison Aneli (Virtual Holland, rated: Moderate)

Mandalas, whether presented as art or an expression of spirituality or as a symbol of the universe or as a result of geometric teasings of fractals, have long fascinated me. The name literally means “circle” in Sanskrit, and within Buddhism and Hinduism the mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol representative of the cosmos around us.

Within Second Life, an artist who captures everything of the rich context, ritual form, balance and harmony of the mandala in her art is Sheba Blitz, and she is currently the Artist in Residence for August at  InterstellART, where she is presenting Simply Spiritual, featuring several of her mandalas, and more besides.

Sheba draws on numerous sources as inspiration for her mandalas. Some of these may be close to the spiritual origins of the form – Buddhism and Hinduism -, others might be as diverse as western astrology or tarot cards. Whatever the source, she produces these marvellous pieces using gouache, acrylics or metallic paints on either canvas or paper, and the uploaded images offered for display within Second Life lose nothing of the intricate beauty of their production.

One of the most fascinating forms of the mandala is created by Tibetan Buddhists. Called dul-tson-kyil-khor (mandala of coloured powders”), or sandpainting, it is a most intricate ritual that sees the production of the most stunning mandala art that has to be seen to be truly appreciated. None of the pieces produced – generally over the course of several days – survives long after its completion; instead, it is destroyed and the sands used taken to a body of water where they are given up as an offering. The entire process serves as both a metaphor for the “impermanence” of the physical world, and also as a means to reconsecrate the earth and its inhabitants.

In many respects, through their survival beyond the creative process, Sheba’s mandalas also offer a metaphor. However, rather than being representative of the impermanent nature of the physical world, their continuance serves as a reminder of the enduring beauty of the universe in which we reside.

Sheba notes that she didn’t originally come to Second Life to display her work. However, after joining, she found herself drawn to the world of art in Second Life, attending exhibitions, seeking other artists, buying pieces by others, and immersing herself in the means to experience art in a new way. Fortunately, she was asked to start exhibiting her own work, and Second Life has been the richer for it.

More recently, the rich diversity of artistic opportunities she’s experienced in SL has led Sheba into new avenues of expression, notably in-world photography and 3D art and sculpture. Simply Spiritual also presents some of the fruits of these broader endeavours, with a number of Sheba’s paintings, photographs and 3D art also on display within the gallery space.

An engaging visit, Simply Spiritual will run through until the end of August, 2018.

SLurl Details

• InterstellART (Nice Atoll, rated: Moderate)

“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in” are the words printed on the invitation to see an exhibition of photographic art by Carolyn Phoenix that recently opened at the Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko ‘冬子’ Amano (Wintergeist). Whether this is the title of the exhibition or a byline for it, I’m unsure. But I can say that the pieces on offer are hauntingly beautiful in their composition and presentation.

The mezzanine level of the gallery, where the exhibition is being hosted, has been converted into a dark, enclosed space in keeping with the title / byline. On display within it are 20 images by Carolyn, sharing the space with torso mannequins equipped with angel wings that add to the dream-like feel of the environment.

The images themselves are mostly dark in tone and subject – so much so that specific details can be hard to make out beyond the shard or pools of washes of light each image contains. These bursts and flickers and beams of light reflect the title  / byline: they have seemingly entered the worlds of these pictures through cracks or holes or as a result of sunlight breaking through clouds or a lone bulb hanging from a ceiling or a reflection from somewhere, to revel things that might otherwise remain unseen.

What these casts of light reveal various from image to image.  Some are mindful of dreams or secret thoughts, often dark in tone – the kind of imaginings we’d rather not shed public light upon, but that nevertheless draw us to them. Others are lighter in nature, simply exulting in the play of light and shadow or the beauty of an artist’s expression of their work; there’s even a hint of playfulness about one.

Some of the images seem to call into focus ideas of identity and of judgement. Teller (seen on the left of the banner image for this review) for example, with its reclined figure looking at a list of eyes from eyeless sockets, tends to suggest the idea of how we present ourselves to the world. The eyes, after all, are the windows of the soul; so how better to project who we might want to appear to be than by selecting our eyes, and only revealing what we want to be seen of ourselves? At the same time there is another potential interpretation: if the eyes are the windows into the soul and thus to who we really are, then how better to remove the potential for the light of understanding to penetrate our inner self than by expunging our eyes altogether, lest we be judged for what lies within.

Judgement is a theme brought into focus by a piece called Verdict (on the left of the image directly above these two paragraphs). But Again the meaning seems to be twofold. On the one hand, the tall figures surrounding the smaller one suggest a fear of judgement; of being looked down upon by others. But closer examination of the smaller subject, catsuited and hooded, perhaps suggests something else: a desire to be judged, to be found wanting and perhaps “punished”. Thus the light haloing the scene perhaps reveals kink-edged secret she at the centre of the image would rather remain hidden to all but a few – or even takes a guilty pleasure in having it so revealed…

Nuanced throughout, a captivating display of photographic art well worth visiting. And while doingso, why not avail yourself of the exhibitions by tralala Loordes and Sighvatr (worthaboutapig), both of which can be seen or accessed on the ground floor of the gallery.

SLurl Details

• Club LA and Gallery (Amano, rated: Moderate)

The G.B.T.H. (Grab By The Horns) Project, curated by Megan Prumier and Marina Münter, and described as being “focused on the extension of creative processes, 3D environments and art related subjects”, opened its August 2018 exhibition at the start of the month.

Concrete Diorama features the work of sculptor Mistero Hifeng, presented in a strange, semi-dark environment where the contrasts of dark  – black and grey – spaces with the bursts of brilliant white within some chambers is as much a part of the exhibition as Mistero’s pieces.

From the landing point, visitors travel along a semi-dark hallway, lined by port holes lit by spotlights. Each portal looks out over individual scenes of couples caught in acts of tenderness, suggesting a theme of love (and perhaps loss or regret). A second darkened hallway follows, windows on either side looking out onto scenes of figures floating in bubbles. Further along, two large proportioned figures stand beside cracked models of the moon, ramps to either side of them leading up to the first of the white chambers. Here, figures lie in a circle, prostrated under fine mess nettings, all facing a central lone tree.

In further chambers dancers perform ballet as couples lie in shallow troughs in the floor, whilst a grand diorama focused on a piece called Bruciando Ricordi (Burning Memories) awaits in the uppermost chamber of the exhibition space.

It’s a haunting, evocative setting, rich in mood and emotion. The expressions of love and loss, coupled with pleading, desire, and regret are all present throughout – most clearly through the crowning piece that features Bruciando Ricordi, which joined by the likes of La Magia di Quell’incanto (The Magic of That Enchantment) and Su Questo Silenzio…Balla (On This Silence … Dance). But the nuances and measure are broader than may first appear.

The couples in their troughs beneath a transparent floor, for example, perhaps carry with them the idea of loss through death, and a desire never to be parted. Meanwhile, the figures prostrated around the tree under their fine netting, appear to be in a different kind of mourning. Are they perhaps a reference to the way we humans can be indifferent to the plight of nature at our hands – at least until it is too late, as signified by the denuded and barren tree sitting at the centre of their circle and the apparent focus of their grief? And what of the large women beside their broken moons? Are they attempting to hide their heads in shame, the result of seeing the slender figures before them, and the  knowledge that society encourages us to embrace the slim as figures of beauty and reject the over-sized?

I’ve long appreciated and enjoyed Mistero’s sculptures, but this is perhaps the first time I’ve seen them brought together in a way that suggests a layered, nuanced narrative; one that resides not only in the individual pieces or in the way some have been brought together to form a diorama, but also right throughout the different levels and chambers within the installation as a whole. It’s an approach that, despite some of the darker tones (literal and metaphorical) apparent in the exhibit, is both effective and captivating.

SLurl Details

• Concrete Diorama, the G.B.T.H Project (Starry Night, rated: moderate)