Category: Reviews

Artful Expressions in Second Life: Blip and Nekonuko

Posted on by Inara Pey
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz

Sorcha Tyles opened the next exhibit at Artful Expressions, her boutique gallery, on Saturday, February 4th, and it  not only includes two guest artists, but also presents a new design for the gallery itself.

Now occupying a two-storey structure, a teleport board linking the ground floor with the upper, the gallery has twice the floor space of the previous unit. The lower floor is devoted to Sorcha’s own photography  – which is more than worth a visit in and of itself; she has a marvellous eye for subject, mood and setting, and her studies are entrancing.

Artful Expressions: Socrha Tyles
Artful Expressions: Socrha Tyles

The upper floor is given over to Sorcha’s invited guest artists, and in this lies another of the attractions of Artful Expressions: Sorcha actively seeks out those who may not have exhibited widely in Second Life in the past, or have perhaps been overlooked by other galleries. Thus, her gallery is an ideal location for discovering the work of artists and photographers you may not have previously come across in-world.

“I am an improviser by nature…in life and in my art,” Blip Mumfuzz says of herself and her work. “My images are typically the result of an unplanned, spontaneous interaction with my environment.”  She goes on to state that she became interested in SL photography as a means of recording her travels across the grid. But then, “I noticed that I started seeing differently … I found that once I found saw something interesting I’d start moving the camera around.  Looking over and under, behind and between.  I began looking less at the things themselves…and more at visual and spatial relationships things.”

Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfuzz

The result is a set of studies offering  a unique perspective on the virtual world in which we roam and which utilise a refined use of line, form and use of colour to create images which are deceptive in their elegant simplicity, inviting us to look into them and discover the story each contains.  You can see more of her work on Flickr.

Nekonuko Nakamori, the second artist Sorcha is exhibiting through February, is a physical world artist with a grounded in Japanese art and who specialises in conceptual / abstract art in oil.

Artful Expressions: nekonuko Nakamori
Artful Expressions: nekonuko Nakamori

Within Second Life, and as Blip started out, she uses photograph as a visual journal of her travels within the grid. Each piece, a precise 1:1 ratio image, presents a location she has visited, usually with nekonuko herself somewhere within it – sometimes prominently, other times distantly. Carefully post-processed they are offered not only as a record for her wanderings, but as a painting, almost of a waif at large in the world.

Both Nekonuko and Blip will remain on display at Artful Expressions through until the end of the month.

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Navigating Natural Falls in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

I was drawn to Natural Falls V in part after seeing Loverdag’s images of its predecessor, Natural Falls IV, at the end of last year. I didn’t get to see that iteration of the build. so when I saw the newest design in the Destination Guide, I took a rapid leap over to see for myself.

Natural Falls is the work of Dann (DannChris), who appears in Second Life as a highly industrious hamster with talent for, among other things, intriguingly descriptive prose. “Natural Falls,” he notes, “is located in an abandoned, flooded metropolis slowly decaying under a derelict, elevated railway.”  It’s an evocative description, and the build – which also sees Natural Falls located in a new sim – more than lives up to it while once again amply demonstrating Dann’s skill in increasing a captivating, atmospheric environment rich in content and potential narratives.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

Visitors commence their time in the region at a boardwalk landing-point. This offers a variety of routes around the flooded setting, some of which end in stairways leading down to the water. Above this, seated on tall steel and concrete piers sits the elevated railway. From above, board walk and railway divide the region into an uneven grid-like pattern, as if sectioning this water-claimed city as it sits beneath a brooding sky complete with low-lying clouds.

Blocky, cement-like walls occasionally sit alongside the boardwalk, their many glass-less windows staring over the failing remnants of what was once a thriving urban hub, now reduced to deserted houses, shops and industrial units rising from the slow-moving waters. The detritus of a vanished community litters the flooded streets, and everything at first glance appears to be trapped in the gloom and grey of neglect and desertion.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

But – look again, and you’ll realise there is more to see than you may have thought when arriving. Colour sparks across the region, be it from the broken windows of a long-empty shop, the bloom of flowers in a flooded garden, or the splash of graffiti on a wall. While in the distance sits the beckoning glow of many-hued lights. Once seen, this draws visitors to a mystical corner, a world of almost otherworldly allure, suggesting that that even amidst this urban decomposition, something  quite beautiful survives.

This blending of art and colour within the wider setting of decay and loss encourages exploration. Nor does everything reside outdoors as well. Thus, time and a careful eye are recommended as a part of any visit, lest something is overlooked along the way.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

And when you feel you’ve toured the ground levels enough, remember to check the teleport mirror by the landing point. It’ll carry you up to a haven of light and colour above the clouds, a little island of cosiness to be enjoyed alone or with someone special.

Natural Falls V continues what has been – from the images I’ve seen on the Flickr stream – a fabulous unfolding story, rich in content and presentation, and most assuredly well worth a visit.

Sol Farm, Story of Infinite; Inara Pey, January 2017, on FlickrNatural Falls V

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The Recreation in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Ladies Room: The Recreation
The Ladies Room: The Recreation

Either find your place or lose yourself in the grid of impressions and projection. Second Life is about you and the ability to find your own fascination. Find yourself. Position yourself. Be a part of the world which your imagination can create.  Take a picture!The lights are on you.

Thus Hills (Hillany Scofield) introduces The Recreation, one of two exhibitions of her art (and the art of others) she is currently showing at her gallery The Ladies Room. She goes on to note that The Recreation draws inspiration from an installation she provided for the 2016 Indie Teepee festival. However, for me, it stands as a marvellous expansion of her March 2016 exhibition Immersed, hosted at The Good Days Gallery (read here for more).

The Ladies Room: The Recreation
The Ladies Room: The Recreation

To appreciate this exhibition, it is essential you have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled in your viewer (via Preferences > Graphics), as it makes extensive use of projectors (you do not need to have Shadows enabled as well).

As with Immersed, The Recreation presents a set of large format images, before which stand faceless, female mannequins. Within this grouping is a pose system, and – as per  the introduction – visitors are invited to jump on it and create their own images within the space (a second pose system is located to one side as well).

The Ladies Room: The Recreation
The Ladies Room: The Recreation

Outside of the central display, the walls of the gallery offer further images under the title The Walls Are Alive. Also being examined by the faceless mannequins, this mix of slide show and projected images presents pictures taken by visitors to The Recreation who have taken Hills’ invitation and used the pose system. She notes that more will be added to this collection as the exhibit continues.

As an examination of the juxtaposition between physical life and virtual life, The Recreation is completed by text and verse which encourage us to ponder the realities and opportunities of both. It is also within the frame of juxtaposition – in this case individuality (in the shape of those taking photos of themselves in The Recreation) and uniformity (in the shape of the faceless mannequins), that this piece reflects (dare I say recreates?) much of the ambience and presence of Immersed.

The Ladies Room: The Recreation
The Ladies Room: The Recreation

When visiting, I also encourage you to tour Your Shine Through, Hills’ the second of Hills’ current exhibitions at The Ladies Room (to the right as you enter the gallery), which presents a series of monochrome pieces. Sensual / erotic in nature, they provide a story of intimacy between lovers.

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Music and experimentation in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
nnoiz Papp in the flesh
nnoiz Papp in the flesh

Drax Files: World Makers 43, released on Wednesday, February 1st, takes us back to the world of music in Second Life; specifically that of nnoiz Papp. As someone who has a deep appreciation of classical music, and who very much enjoys music with an electronic flavour and can wrap itself around Middle Eastern and Far Eastern themes and ideas, I have to say that the piece came as something of an eye-opener to me, as I’ve somehow managed to miss nnoiz’s music thus far – but having seen the segment, it is something I’m liable to be keeping an eye out for in the future.

nnoiz’s life very much revolves around music. His physical work has him providing sound and music for the animated television series, Sendung mit der Maus  (The Show with the Mouse), which has been running since 1971,  and is Germany’s longest-running animated children’s show. With a strong educational leaning, it has won 75 awards over the years. and has drastically altered perceptions around the value of television as a tool for learning with youngsters in Germany. nnoiz first became involved in it in 1984, and also works on the spin-off series Die Sendung mit dem Elefanten (The Show with the Elephant), aimed at pre-school youngsters, which launched in 2007 – the year he also got involved in Second Life.

Nnoiz Papp in the pixels
Nnoiz Papp in the pixels

In-world, he is able to bring together an engaging mix of classical-based, electronically inspired music which he describes as organic. It’s a description I’d agree with, intertwining contemporary, electronic / industrial beats with the more assured, mature influences of classical pieces and middle-eastern influence to produce something entirely harmonic, pleasing to the ear and very much alive.

nnoiz is very much an experimentalist within music – and Second Life is perhaps an ideal environment for such experimentation. Not only does it offer the chance to reach a global audience through in-world concerts and gigs, it is also a unique environment in which music and sound can be played with physically.

The original plug & play - nnoiz working at his modular synthesisers
The original plug & play – nnoiz working at his modular synthesisers

In his liner notes, Drax draws a line between nnoiz’s work at that of Wendy Carlos, and it is not in any way a stretch. For me, on hearing the excerpts of nnoiz’s music, together with learning about his work with modular synthesisers – something which carried me back to reading about and listening to the late Isao Tomita. Again, both men share similar ground in the avant-garde of music, whilst remaining true to some of the great composers of the past (I particularly enjoyed catching J.S. Bach woven into one of nnoiz’s pieces, Bach also being a favourite with Tomita).

This is a World Makers piece which largely speaks for itself – although non-German speakers should ensure they have subtitles enabled when watching! – and as such, extensive commentary from me risks adding hyperbole to what really is an excellent piece.

nnoiz's other alter-ego (who shares billing with nooiz): The Singing Cat
nnoiz’s other alter-ego (who shares billing with nooiz): The Singing Cat

That said, and in case you do find dealing with sub-titles a little difficult, I do urge you do watch the segment through to the end. From the 3:45 mark nnoiz offers some pithy insights into clichéd views on Second Life, included the tired old (and wholly incorrect) view that you “cannot” understand Second Life without entering into its smuttier side. As nnoiz points out, it is possible to visit a city and entirely its seedier side, unless that is your intention for visiting – which is something else entirely. So the idea that SL is “all about the sex”, or any exploration of SL “must” include sex, is a very erroneous position to take.

As this segment of World Makers again demonstrates, SL is so rich and vibrant a melting pot of experiences, ideas, explorations and opportunities, that someone entering it doesn’t necessarily have to jump into its “dirty corners” in order to fully and roundly appreciate it.

Light Reflections in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Light Reflections
Light Reflections

Light Reflections is the name of a full region installation in Second Life by Venus Adored. Spanning six levels, it is, as the name suggests, an experiment in light and reflections.

Visitors start at the top of the installation, where sit instructions on how to set the viewer to best enjoy the experience. Unfortunately, the most important instruction is absent: visitors must have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled via Graphics > Preferences in order to see the installation correctly. Failing to do this will leave some of the levels apparently devoid of detail.

Light Reflections
Light Reflections

Each of the levels below the instructions provides an environment in which lighting and projected lights are used in different ways. In the first level, for example, visitors can fly around in soap bubbles (use the WASD / arrow keys for movement, and PAGE UP / PAGE DOWN to change height), and project lighting pattens on to the walls and floors of the room as they approach them.

Another level offers a set of different scenes, each within its own cube, where light and particles are again used to add ambience to the environment. Another offers an entirely monochrome setting, while the final (ground level) presents a landscape enhanced by projects lighting. Through the entire piece are interactive elements – the soap bubbles mentioned above, a paper boat visitor can rez and sail at the ground levels, and diamonds offering which will animate an avatar when touched in others.

Light Reflections
Light Reflections

Light Reflections is an interesting piece offering a good demonstration of projected lights in use, although I couldn’t help be feel some of the levels might have been combined (particularly the three introductory levels of instructions). However this doesn’t detract of the installation; if you enjoy seeing or an curious about projected lighting effects, Light Reflections is a worthwhile visit and will remain open though until the end of June.

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February at The Edge in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Edge
The Edge

Saturday, January 28th, 2017 marks the formal opening of the latest exhibition at The Edge gallery, curated by Eleseren Brianna. The Edge is the fashion division of Kultivate Magazine, with a focus on the artistic and cultural side of fashion in both Second Life and the physical world.

Taking part in the exhibition are:  Delypop Cresci, Calima Dufaux, Hikaru Enimo, Algezares Magic, Ruby Ornamental, Apocketfullofbutterflies Resident, Khronoz Resident, Beatrice Serendipity, and Catalina Staheli. Layka63 Resident had also been scheduled to exhibit, but having been absent for more than a week, Eleseren has had to offer a selection of her own work for display.

The Edge
The Edge

The majority of the pieces on display across the gallery’s three levels are avatar studies, although some are given an added twist in that they are by some recognisable names from the world of Second Life modelling. The range of styles within the exhibition is varied, and the contrasts between approaches to subject matter and framing making for an interesting point of examination of the pictures and artists as one progresses through the gallery.

However, that said, I admit to being somewhat biased when it come to art; I much prefer images which suggest a narrative or offer the imagination licence to take flight. Static poses bereft of a deeper connection tend to have me passing over them perhaps a little too quickly, and I did find this to be the case at times with this exhibit.

The Edge
The Edge

But where I did find that narrative / challenge to the imagination, I found it to be strongly evoked, to the extent that I was drawn back, and into, to the work of some of the artists over and again, making this a rewarding visit that had my camera – and eyes – lingering as grey cell cogitated and reflected.

The February exhibition officially opens at 14:00 SLT on Saturday, January 28th, with a live music performance by Dimivan Ludwig. Formal dress is requested.

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