Category: Reviews

Cica’s Fade Away in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Cica Ghost – Fade Away

Fade Away is the name of Cica Ghost’s latest region-wide installation, which opened on May 5th, 2017. The title is drawn from a quote by Bob Dylan, “Some people seem to fade away but then when they are truly gone, it’s like they didn’t fade away at all.” It’s a quote from his 2004 memoirs, Chronicles 1,  which ostensibly looks back on his arrival in New York and immersion into Greenwich Village life.

It’s a quote which has tended to be used as a reflection of mortality, the passage of time and / or the sometimes transient nature of relationships. It is a fitting foundation for this installation, which is a deeply personal piece for Cica, for reasons those who know her are aware, and which I’m not about to reveal here without her permission. Suffice it to say, the meaning behind it is something with which we all identify at certain points in our lives.

Cica Ghost – Fade Away

Within a ghostly, misted landscape sits a bedroom, part of an old house, where a gaunt figure has apparently just risen from bed. An alarm clock states the time is some ten minutes before six. As we watch another version of the figure fades into view, apparently departing the room, looking over his shoulder, and down along a path, more versions of the figure fade in and out of view, copies of the alarm clock still frozen at ten before six sit close by, until the figure reaches a pair of wooden gates set within a rickety fence.

Nor is this all; outside of the house, and along part of the route, ghoulish creatures appear to watch and mock the figure’s progress, while he also passes through groups of cloaked figures, apparently caught in their own world. One more of these hooded figures sits apart from the rest, before a table, two cats providing him with company. Another alarm clock sits close by, also showing the same time.

Cica Ghost – Fade Away

Symbolism here is heavy – but what does it all mean? Perhaps the answer lies with a lone figure of a woman standing to one side of these various tableaux. She stands separated from them by the rickety fence the lone figure appears to be making his way without ever actually arriving, watching his progress.

Is the fence perhaps a metaphor, the dividing like between the woman’s physical presence in the world, and her memories of someone no longer in her life? If so, this perhaps makes the various tableaux across the rest of the region memories of that loved one, and his passage through (her) life. If so, might the hooded figures perhaps be more distant remembrances of time spent with him, echoes from deep within memory? As Dylan also said, “I’ll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours.”

Cica Ghost – Fade Away

Life is transient; however we feel about ourselves and those around us, we – and they – are only mortal. This would seem to be the message within the ghoulish characters gathered around the house. But at the same time, there is more to each of us than our physical presence, although that is often the most missed.  Through memories, we can hold on to those dear to us, however they have moved on from their physical presence in our lives so that, to one again use Dylan’s words, “when they are truly gone, it’s like they didn’t fade away at all.”

Fade Away is a poignant, heartfelt piece, rich in symbolism and deep in personal meaning, deserving to be seen and contemplated.

Cica Ghost – Fade Away

SLurl Details

A Rustic Retreat in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Rustic Retreat – click on any image for full size

Rustic Retreat is a full region designed by Pred Fromund (Predator Ryba) and Bluey Porthos Fromund (Blue Whitefalcon). Described as ” an ideal place for photographers – or those that like to explore or just chill out”, it is a place of many facets: fantasy, whimsy, beauty, mystery – and a little darkness as well.

The fantasy element is made apparent at the landing point, alongside of which a Troll stands, whilst fairies play around a nearby fountain. The mystery is also evident to keen eyes, as strange plants can be seen further away along the fire-lit path, glowing and swaying in the breeze. Also not too far away, fantasy and mystery come together beyond a stone arch sitting alongside the trail.

Rustic Retreat

The default lighting for the region is night (although I opted to take most of my images in daylight), and I recommend exploring it; at least in part, as there are several areas which deserve to be seen in daylight, such is the attention lavished upon them. Torches and fires light the trails winding through parts of the region, and the glowing beauty of Elicio ember’s fabulous plants lend themselves perfectly to the night-time lighting.

Where you wander during a visit is entirely down to you; the trails will lead you to various places – one might lead to ancient ruins here, a little cuddle spot there, Another might take you to where a fork in the path gives you a choice of a climb up to a platform among waterfalls, or a  path through the skull of a dragon and thence to a basalt-ringed garden and pool with a coastal board walk beside gigantic mushrooms close by.

Rustic Retreat

This is a place where a Tree of life raises strong and tall into the sky, its base a place of elven-like power; where a lone tower rises from the surrounding woods, overlooking a wizard’s cottage on one side, and anther mystical glade on the other – albeit one also given to a touch of whimsy thanks to the characters to be found there.

Travel far enough and you’ll encounter more: coastal ruins, the gaiety or rabbits frolicking,  more whimsy in the form of pixie and fairy houses and gardens – and throughout all of it, places to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds. Meanwhile, the more adventurous can available themselves of network of teleport discs.

Rustic Retreat

These offer shortcuts to some of the ground-level locations, but it can also take you skyward, where the “darker” aspects of the region lie, such as a ghostly club where one gets the impression vampires and lycans might put aside their differences for a  while. Alongside of this is a post-apocalyptic setting where zombies and other creatures roam – and visitors are offered the protection of a free weapon. Elsewhere, you might find a small homage to Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic novel.

Picturesque by daylight, hauntingly mysterious by night, photogenic under any lighting conditions, Rustic Retreat offers an intriguing and eye-catching visit.

Rustic Retreat

SLurl Details

Kultivate Spring Sensuality exhibition

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kultivate Spring Sensuality exhibition

The Kultivate Magazine 2017 Spring Sensuality Exhibition officially opens on Friday, May 5th at 08:00 SLT (note that any SLurls to the event will not before the opening).

The magazine’s first Adult-rated event (in which images should be considered NSFW), will run through until Sunday, May 7th inclusive in a specially constructed event area in the sky over the Kultivate home region of Water Haven.

Over 30 artists are participating in the exhibition, which will also include several entertainment events as well. The artists taking part are:

Artandsoul Constantine, Beatrice Serendipity, Booyakashaka Resident, Bri Graycloud, ByrneDarkly Cazalet, captainofmysoul, Catalina Staheli, Glitterprincess Destiny, Greg Paslong, Honey Bender Laperrier-Auer, Isis Desmoulins, JolieElle Parfort, Kacey Macbeth, Lanne Wise, Lucia Tophat, lulyboop, Lyekahgood Nighbor, Marcus Lefevre & Hikaru Enimo, Miele Tarantal, Myra Wildmist, Paradox Messmer, Pipit Peacedream, Ramsa Luv, Ricco Saenz, Slatan Dryke, Talligurl Resident, Timaaj Resident , Tintin Tuxing, Tisephone, Tiszo Cioc, Umshlanga Barbosa, Veruca Tammas, and wintergeist.

Kultivate Spring Sensuality exhibition

Schedule of Events

All times SLT, and correct at the time of going to press

  • Friday, May 5th, 2017:
    • 08:00 – exhibition opens
    • 16:00 – Parker Static, live (1 hour)
  • Saturday, May 6th, 2017:
    • 14:00 – Lark Bowen, live (1 hour)
  • Sunday, May 7th, 2017:
    • 12:00 noon – Sunday Sensuality Ball (2 hours)
    • 23:59 – exhibition closes

Please not that dress code through is casual with the exception of the Sunday Sensuality ball, at which formal attire is requested, with masquerade mask or blindfold. A free party pack will be presented to all guests.

About Kultivate Magazine and Brand

Kultivate Magazine is a publication about the cultural aspects of Second Life. The goal of the magazine is to support art, culture, photography, music, and fashion. The brand includes: the magazine, The Edge and The Edge Gallery, The Windlight Art Gallery,  The Red Gallery,  The Kultivate Bailywick Gallery, The Kultivate Select Gallery, Ristorante Ivanna, & The Tribute and Crown Pub.

In addition, Kultivate Magazine is proud to be the media partner and primary sponsor of Team Diabetes of Second Life, an official and authorised fund-raising team for The American Diabetes Association.

Links and SLurl

UWA’s Transformations in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Image courtesy of UWA

In February, I relayed news on what is to be the final mixed-media art exhibition at the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) presence in Second Life,  which is currently scheduled to be scaled back from the end of July 2017.

Held in the tradition of the UWA’s Grand Challenges albeit it on a non-juried basis and as an exhibition rather than a contest with prizes, Transformations ceased accepting entries at the end of April 2017, and all of the submissions received prior to the closing date are now on display at the UWA’s skyborne gallery space.

Transformations: Noke Yuitza – Transcendence Despite Falling Rain

“Our final show is about beginnings, endings, transitions, change,” UWA’s art curator FreeWee Ling said in the original announcement for the exhibition. “The theme is deliberately vague in order to allow for the broadest possible interpretation. It is intended to highlight the technologies of SL as a medium for creative expression. We especially want work that reflects on the past in SL and/or imagines the future of virtual art.”

In all, just under 30 artists from across Second Life responded to the call, producing both 2D and 3D art pieces, and short machinima pieces encompassing the theme, with some offering artists submitting works in more than one medium. As always with a UWA event, the finished pieces are extraordinary in the richness of creativity shown, and the manner in which that acknowledged broad theme has been interpreted.

Transformations: Thoth Jantzen – Transfabulous

3D art makes up the larger part of the exhibition, occupying most of the floorspace. 2D art can be found within a horseshoe display area on one side of the exhibition hall relative to the landing point, and the machinima entries in the opposite direction, against the wall separating Transformations from a display of works from past UWA challenges and exhibitions.

All of the pieces are provided with an artist’s name plate which, which touched, may furnish you with information on the artists and on the piece itself. In a small departure from previous exhibitions, the machinima is provided for in-world playback – touch the associated screen to start a video. Those who prefer, or have a viewer that doesn’t support CEF can still touch the artist’s name tag and receive a link to video on YouTube or Vimeo, where they can watch it.

Transformations: ErikoLeo – A Virtual Wander In Two Dimensions And A Half

Given the breadth of work on display in Transformations, offering a review of individual pieces is not easy – but I did find myself draw to a number of pieces, such as Grow, a stunning time-lapse video by Glaz Decuir in which we witness Silas Merlin taking s raw idea and transforming it into a finished 3D piece – and it is a truly fascinating study. Then there is Noke Yuitza’s Transcendence Despite Falling Rain, depicting the transformation and transcendence which grow from a failed relationship, beautifully and evocatively presented.

Alongside of Noke’s work is  ErikoLeo’s marvellous A Virtual Wander In Two Dimensions And A Half, which uses 2D panoramic images within a 3D model to offer transformative views of Second Life past and present – complete with and interactive element that puts you in to the scenes (take the anywhere door, then touch the arrows and go to mouselook in each sphere). Thoth Jantzen provides a dimensional defying Transubfabulous – be sure to teleport up from the part of the installation in the main gallery.

SLurl Details

Given the number of entries, this is an exhibition which requires time to appreciate – and you can find a full list of the artists involved on the UWA in SL blog across three posts starting here. One thing I would recommend when visiting – set your viewer to midnight; it removes much of the distraction of surrounding spaces and skyboxes.

The Year 3299 in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Art on Roofs: 3299

3299 is a new exhibition by artist and creator Terrygold, which formally opens at 14:00 SLT on Monday, May 1st. However, Terry kindly invited me to have a sneak preview.

“It is my vision of the future,” Terry informed me. “A city were resources are all used up, and the water is recycled.” The result is an atmospheric sitting – windlight instructions are provided at the landing point, and if you can, you should both set them and enable Advanced Lighting Model on your viewer; shadows are also recommended.

Art on Roofs: 3299

From the landing point a fog-enshrouded landscape extends into the distance under a clouded sky. “Pollution,” Terry says of the fogging effect. The landscape comprises plain white blocks stretching over a dry grass land. Walk on the blocks – which might be perceived as city blocks – and they form paths running through the grass. Step down into the grass, and it becomes the path through a low-walled maze formed by the white blocks. Which you take is up to you.

Scattered throughout this space 3D pieces by Terry. Some have a practical application in the setting by transporting the recycled water around. Others are more obviously founded in artistic expression. Every so often tall towers rise up, crowned by fences. “A final defence to protect the last trees,” Terry told me. Alas, the attempt failed. None of the blocks contains a tree; only grass now grows within them, despite the water balloons feeding some of them.

Art on Roofs: 3299

In fact, only one tree remains. It sits guarded by a triple set of gates at the entrance to a structure at the far end of the landscape. Tall and gaunt, it stands alone, devoid of flower and seemingly fragile. Behind it, cast upon the white blocks is its shadow, which bursts with colour in the dim light, looking for all the world like it is in bloom – a poignant reminder of what once was and has forever been lost.

Within this structure, lining the walls, is Terry’s 2D art. Some of the pieces might be considered NSFW, but all feature Terry’s landmark style and each has something of a story to tell about the environment – this vision of the future – in which it has been set.

Art on Roofs: 3299

Featuring a mix of 2D and 3D art, all of which is intriguing and captivating, with a gentle commentary of ecological and environmental concerns, 3299 offers an exhibition which both catches the eye and  – albeit in a subtle manner – engages the brain.

SLurl Details

An Asian Fusion in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay – click on any image for full size

We received word that Sera Bellic had given her Homeland region of Oyster Bay a further make-over some 24 hours before it appeared in the Destination Guide Highlights for Friday, April 28th – and I was immediately intrigued by the theme title: Asian Fusion. Regular readers of this blog will know that anything having any kind of Eastern or oriental flavour is bound to get my attention. So, off we hopped to take a look.

Now, truth be told, “Asian” and “oriental” fusions in Second Life often tends to lean towards regions with a blending of predominantly Chinese and Japanese elements, so I was curious to see if Sera would cast her net wider than purely Sino-Japanese influences. And she has. Quite marvellously so.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

From the landing point in the north-west corner of the region, visitors are encouraged under a rocky arch and into a land that immediately puts one in mind of Indochina (or as we more boringly refer to it today: South-east Asia). Across a small river spanned by a simple yet ornate wooden bridge, a paired tier of rice paddies are stacked against a rocky bluff. Working oxen stand on the grassland between stream and paddies,  ignoring the click-clank of a nearby shishi odoshi which forms part of the region’s nods towards Japan. Another such nod can be found on the north bank of the river, where a small Japanese style cabin sits amidst elephant’s ears and clover, refreshments on offer inside, a sampan sitting at the river bank close by.

Immediately to the right of the rocky arch guiding visitors into the region is a clear nod to China. A bamboo grove rises on a step of clover-covered rock, home to a bamboo of pandas (I much prefer that to the the idea of an “embarrassment” of pandas, or the Royal Society’s 1866 decree that a group of pandas should be called a “cupboard”).  Like the oxen across the river, these bears are not the slightest bothered by the steady clank of an shishi odoshi.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

Southwards across the region, and the landscape becomes home to a dense, forest-like woodland. Here one is put in mind of Myamar (Burma), such is the jungle-like feel, coupled with the presence of another vulnerable / endangered species: the tiger. Within this mini reproducion of what might be  the Hukawng Valley, can also be found a Japanese torii gate marking a set of ancient stone steps leading to a decidedly Chinese pavilion where Buddha sits, all of which speaks further to the beautiful fusion of influences provided. Guarding this pavilion and hilltop are white Bengal tigers, offering a further and interesting fusion.

Travel north from the forest, and another  torii gate and flight of steps await. These lead up to a Japanese house sitting behind the rocky bluff against which the rice paddies have been built. Another house stands further to the south, beyond the forest and not far from the pandas in their bamboo grove, while in the middle of the region, rich in cherry blossom petals, sits a tranquil pond which feeds into the little river.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

I’ve long enjoyed Sera’s designs. each one tends to be unique and offer food for thought when considering designs and ideas of use at home or elsewhere. However, every so often there is a design which tends to stand slightly above Sera’s other builds for one reason or another. Asian Fusion is, for me, another such design; the way a range of influences have been brought together is simply marvellous (I even felt Sri Lanka, a country I love dearly reflected in a couple of places).

This is not so much a place to be visited as it is to be savoured. Simply wonderful.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

SLurl Details

Asian Fusion (Oyster Bay, rated:  Moderate)