Category: Reviews

Visiting a place for supernatural tales

Posted on by Inara Pey

HyakuMonogatari; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr HyakuMonogatari (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Hyakumonogatari is one of two regions designed by 兇 (Merurun), the other being its neighbour Heinakyo. I was drawn to them after reading a blog post by Abinoam Nørgaard recording his explorations of both.

Hyakumonogatari in particular attracted me because of the apparent link with the ancient parlour game Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai (百物語怪談会) or A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales, which was popular in Edo period Japan and may have started as a game of courage played by  the samurai class.

HyakuMonogatari; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr HyakuMonogatari (Flickr)

Given that Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was a game played at night, involving the possible evocation of spirits, ghouls and demons, it should come as no surprise that the region bearing its name (at least in part) has a dark, heavy atmosphere occasionally split by flashes of lightning (note that other than the topmost image in this piece, I’ve used lighter windlights in my pictures to help show some of the details of the region).

The main landing point is a temple courtyard, huddled at the foot of a tall mountain. Crows caw from the trees and paper lamps strung between wooden poles provide the main illumination. Follow the path around to the imposing bulk of the gate house standing before the temple’s shrine, and you’ll see a wooden bridge passing eastwards over a narrow gorge to a small town beyond which straddles the two regions, Heinakyo offering more of a retail environment as one travels through it.

HyakuMonogatari; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr HyakuMonogatari (Flickr)

For the intrepid, however, it is the route north and west which is the one to take, following the path and steps up the mountain and under a train of torii gates. Here the mist lies heavy and the default lighting is dim, adding to the atmosphere. As shines to honoured ancestors appear, so to does the path become increasingly unpredictable.

There are two routes here. One will take the traveller directly up to a high shoulder on the mountain. The other, which might take a little bit of finding, leads into the heart of the mountain, although the fact it has done so might not at first be obvious. Here you’ll find an old, careworn temple, the home of a couple of additional stores, and which plays on the idea of the Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai. Keen-eyed will find an alternative route back down to the main temple, while those careless of foot may find themselves taking a fall or two…

HyakuMonogatari; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr HyakuMonogatari (Flickr)

Taken together, HyakuMonogatari and Heinakyo make for an interesting visit. both look as if work on them might still be in progress in places, but the village and temple are photogenic. And should you fancy getting a group of friends together and lighting a series of andon in one room, ready to tell supernatural tales in another, this is the place to do so.

And to keep to the tradition of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, just make sure you bring a mirror and a table on which to lay it…

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A visit to a Small Town Café

Posted on by Inara Pey

Small Town Café, Luck; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr Small Town Café, Luck (Flickr) – click any image for full size

Every so often you happen across a place you weren’t expecting to find, whether it be purely by random chance, the nudge of coincidence or the chance remark. Insofar as this article is concerned, it was the latter: a chance remark I caught in open chat concerning places to photograph in SL, which led me to Small Town Café, an utterly delightful 1/4 full region designed by Mido (Mido77077 Liotta). Mido was responsible for Small Town Green, A place I visited in 2013, only to lose track of it; I’m not sure is Small Town Café is a new iteration of Small Town Green or something that happens to share part of the name; either way I had to take a look.

Most of the land is submerged bordered on two side by tall, plateau-like cliffs on two sides. Grass and tulips grow tall in the shallow water, forming islands of green and yellow against the blue, between which the water seems to snake, presenting the visitor with the feeling of standing at the mouth of a slow-flowing river as it meets the gentle currents of the sea – or perhaps a lake.

Small Town Café, Luck; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr Small Town Café, Luck (Flickr)

Through the middle of the water, almost cutting it in two and pointing east, a long wooden walkway winds its way from the  the landing point to the open water, where there is a subtle wash of mixing currents. A grassy path runs northwards from the landing point, marking the way to the primary signs of habitation here. Nestled in the shadow of the tall cliffs sits an empty town house or shop, a Tuscan cottage occupying the cobbles alongside it, both fronted by a paved footpath protecting them from the lapping waters.

Here the scene is almost urban; a scooter, loaded with bags and boxes, sit on the footpath, while the shop is fronted by the entrance to an underground station. Is it genuine, or is it something perhaps transplanted here on a whim, the boards over the entrance hiding the fact only more cobblestones sit beneath them? It’s up to visitors to decide. Here, as well, under a rocky arch, is a gated wall, suggesting a garden beyond, distracting the eye from the arched entranceway close by which provides access to one of the region’s genuine secrets.

Small Town Café, Luck; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr Small Town Café, Luck (Flickr)

Across the waters from these, on the south side of the region, and raised above the waters over which they stand is the café bar that perhaps gives the place its name, and red bulk of an old shipping container, now converted into a workshop. To reach these, you’ll have to do a little wading, and I strongly recommend you do so around the edge of the water; not because of any risk of drowning, but because that way you’ll find more little touches – such as the greenhouse converted into a little vinyl record shop. Just do try not to disturb the deer too much as you make your way to the café bar.

Music is obviously popular here; the café features an old upright piano, and guitars on their stands can be found here and there across the region, as can places to sit and pass the time with friends or a loved one. This is also a place where cats roam and play with puppies, content to let the mice enjoy the atmosphere unhindered, and even the big cats are wish to do little more than watch things from on high.

Small Town Café, Luck; Inara Pey, April 2015, on Flickr Small Town Café, Luck (Flickr)

Given my love of music, cats and watery scenes is Second Life, little wonder I was enchanted by Small Town Café. I’m sure that when you visit, you will be as well – and who knows, if I’m there, maybe I’ll play you a little something on the piano or if you prefer, strum a guitar for a while. If I do (or even if I don’t), please consider leaving a tip; not for me, but for Mido, to help keep tranquil setting alive for many more to enjoy.

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Playing with a Little Bee

Posted on by Inara Pey
Testing the Foilborne AD25H "Little Bee"
Testing the Foilborne AD25H Little Bee

Back in January 2015, I wrote about my impulse buy of the Kv23H FoilStream power boat, designed and built by Ape Piaggio under her Foilborne Industries brand. At the time, I wasn’t sure how well it would grow on me – although I can now say it is one of my firm favourites.

That review lead to Ape and I making contact in-world, and we’ve discussed boats and vehicles extensively since then (I’ve also had a lot of fun with her tried-out her autogyro). So when she invited me to help beta test her upcoming new release, I leapt at the chance. Ape has been working on the design for at least five months, and it will still be a while before it reaches production status. However, she’s given me permission to preview it here, and I’ll be reviewing it in full once it is available on the market.

The AD25H “Little Bee” is actually a release I’ve been looking forward to for some time – and trying the beta version has only increased my desire to grab one once it is officially released. A tender style speedboat a good deal smaller that the mighty FoilStream, it is no less packed with features.

Fancy taking friends parasailing? The Little Bee will let you!
Fancy taking friends parasailing? The Little Bee will let you!

And when I say packed, I mean packed. Single and couple poses; working instruments; mouselook driving, deployment mooring fenders; canvas weather cover – even a coffee percolator should you need warming-up on a cold morning’s outing! All these and more are included in the boat’s features. You’ll even be able to take friends parasailing or wake boarding on the finished model (no wake boarding on the beta I’ve been testing).

If that’s not enough, Ape has also include her “auto-mooring” system, multiple camera options, a voice messaging system, her fuelling system (complete with a neat animation), ACSS system to assist with region crossings, a racing mode, repainting capability – and more. And for those, like me, like the hydrofoil aspect of the FoilSteam, Little Bee includes its own deployable hydrofoils and an optional camera positioning control which allows you to see them being deployed / retracted.

The Little Bee has working cockpit instrument and is a superb drive in mouselook mode
The Little Bee has working cockpit instrument and is a superb drive in mouselook mode

There’s no time frame on availability (other than “coming soon” 🙂 ), nor is there a price-point. However, testing so far has revealed the Little Bee to be very stable and agile, and it handles region crossings with as much ease as can be expected with one or two passengers – and even with one of them dangling behind the boat in the parasail!

If this is enough to whet your appetite and you’d like to try a basic pre-release version of the boat (options like the hydrofoils, parasail, etc are not enabled on it), you can do so via the Little Bee’s pre-release demo area.

As noted, I’ll be reviewing the boat in full once it is available on the market. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a short video (best played at 720p, if you can) I put together when testing the beta version.

Watching the balloons

Posted on by Inara Pey
Balloons
Balloons

Balloons is Cica Ghost’s latest installation at Wondering Dew, where it replaces her wonderfully atmospheric Ruins, which I wrote about here. Having officially opened on Sunday, April 12th, Balloons is a similarly atmospheric piece, although in a somewhat different manner.

From the landing point, you look out over a low-lying landscape which undulates gently. Flowers and grass grow tall here, and a lone tree stands on the coast. In the distance stands a city, but a city that’s most unusual in form; rather than rising up into the sky, the tall buildings are bent and oddly deformed, stooping back towards the ground on which they stand. Fog or smoke enshrouds them, and giant cobwebs lay stretched between them, giving the city a neglected feel.

Balloons
Balloons

It is something that is seemingly lost on the denizens of this strange place. While most of them stand in the fields surrounding their city, few appear to be paying it any attention; their focus is instead on the balloons bobbing gently in the breeze, strings hanging tantalising down, most of them just out of reach.

Most, but not all; some have clearly dropped down to within reach of outstretched hands, to be grasped firmly and, whether it be with shocked surprise or sudden pleasure, have then lifted the ones grasping them up into the air, carrying them on the eddying currents of air so they float over the crowd and drift between the city’s curled towers.

Balloons
Balloons

Flying in this way is obviously a delight, something several of those left on the ground clearly wish to experience. To this end, some have been enterprising in their attempts, calling upon step ladders to help increase their ability to grasp passing strings as ballloons float overhead as other watch and point. Such is the wonder of these balloons, that even the bed-ridden reach longingly for a passing string and the hope of … what? Freedom? Flight? Escape?

And what of us, those who stand and watch, alongside the island’s cats as they look on mournfully, as neglected as the city itself? What are we to make of this scene? Is this perhaps a commentary on the dangers of obsession? The wilting fingers of the city’s tired towers with the shimmering cobwebs spread between them, perhaps a warning against becoming too focused on a single thing, be it an activity, object or something else?

Balloons
Balloons

Or are the balloons themselves a comment on our quest for freedom, to be able to soar above the problems of everyday life as presented by the shadowy city, its cobwebs symbolic of the many things which can obscure our view or even bind us in the mundane? The artist doesn’t seek to enlighten us; instead she leaves us to interpret things as we choose.

What she does provide, however, is a balloon which visitors can obtain for free at the landing point, allowing them to experience what it is like to float above the ground and beneath the sky like the citizens of this strange land. I won’t promise it’ll help you decide what is going on in this deceptively beautiful land; but I can say that floating around on the end of a piece of strong can be a lot of fun, and it’s easy to see why the locals enjoy it!

Bolloons should remain open through until the end of April, so why not hop over and see what’s going on for yourself?

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A fractal rhapsody

Posted on by Inara Pey
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

Officially opening at 13:00 SLT on Saturday, April 11th, at the Influence Art Community is a new exhibition of fractal art by Gem Preiz.

“I spend my time amazed with the extraordinary detailed patterns of the fractals, as well as their incredible diversity,” Gem says of his work. “From my explorations in this fascinating universe, I bring back digital images that I have been displaying on SL for two and a half years, using them to illustrate themes which inspire me.”

Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

The result is a series of pictures which come together under the title Rhapsody in Blue Fractals, which Gem uses to form a narrative tracing the story of the universe through to humanity’s arrival and our attempts to fill it with our own creations.

The pieces  – twenty in total – are displayed two and three at a time through a series of rooms hanging in space, a single blue walkway running between blue-framed doorways providing the means of progress from one room to another. The choice of blue is deliberate, as Gem notes, “blue as the water from which life arises, as the sky and the air we inhale.”

Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

Each piece bears its own title, giving a clue to its place in the story: Genesis, emerGence, BioloGy, and so on – the capitalised G another link to the blue theme and the title of the piece; Rhapsody in Blue being George Gershwin’s famous 1924 musical composition for piano and jazz band. And it is also, as Gem notes, a play on the first initial of his name, and the person to whom the exhibition is dedicated.

The pieces themselves are also rendered in blue, and each one is intricately detailed and quite beautiful in depth; so much so that time is really required to study and appreciate each piece fully – and even then, it is possible to come back and pick out yet more details on a subsequent visit.. They also represent something of a retrospective of the various styles of fractal art he has produced over the last 30 or so months, something which adds a further layer to the exhibition as a whole.

Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

I’m not sure if there will be a music stream running once the exhibit formally opens, however GEM suggests three YouTube tracks should be listened to when visiting the exhibition, and having wandered back and froth through it with them playing, I tend to agree with him:

Oh, and when you reach what appear to be the end of the blue path and are facing the last image – trust to fate and step off the edge; there’s a little surprise waiting, which is perhaps itself a commentary on the possible cyclical nature of the universe!

Avatars as art

Posted on by Inara Pey
Femme by Sabbian Paine - Holtwaye ArtSpace
Femme by Sabbian Paine – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Open now at Holtwaye ArtSpace are two exhibitions of art which focus on avatars.

The first, Femme, features a series of eight images by Sabbian Paine, located on in the north wing of the gallery’s ground level building.

While small in number, the images displayed are highly individual and both graphically and narratively powerful in content.

Femme by Sabbian Paine - Holtwaye ArtSpace
Femme by Sabbian Paine – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Take Swan Lake as an example (the leftmost picture in the trio at the top of this article). Here is a piece of masterful execution as the poise and elegance of the woman, the fall of her gown, the arms of her arms, presents an image strongly evocative of  the stately appearance of a swan. At the same time, the black gas mask encasing her head adds a subtle twist to the image, removing her identity from view in what may seem an oppressive or menacing way whilst simultaneously enhancing her swan-like looks. Thus there is a subtle enfolding of elements here: the direct comparison with a swan, the hinting at the classic ballet and the idea of hidden secrets.

Each of the pieces offers a narrative of its own, making this a small, but highly engaging exhibit in which you may well find yourself spending far more time studying each piece than you might otherwise have expected.

JJ Goodman - Holtwaye ArtSpace
JJ Goodman – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Located in the skyborne gallery space (reached via the teleport sign outside of the ground level complex) is a relatively new (having opened on March 28th) exhibition of images by JJ Goodman.

On display are eighteen images, the majority of which are once again focused on avatars (although one or two are broader in nature).

JJ Goodman - Holtwaye ArtSpace
JJ Goodman – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Here the focus is very much on avatars going about their lives, be it a man bathing in a pool, participants in a carnival, a group of guys dancing at a 50s-style diner, and so on. Many of the images have a vibrancy both in colour and composition which give them a unique feeling of “living”. Others are beautifully posed, lit and shot as to evoke a story of their own.

In this there is something marvellously engaging in the juxtaposition of various styles displayed within the images displayed here, with the likes of Chess Girl, Duncan, and Coop’s Serenity offering that rich depth of narrative which draws one into each of the pictures – and particularly in the case of pieces like Coop’s Serenity, directly into the subject’s eyes -, which beautifully contrasts with pieces like 50’s Guys and Candy Girls, where the story is painted more in the picture as a whole, and the richness of the colours within it.

JJ Goodman - Holtwaye ArtSpace
JJ Goodman – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Taken together, these two exhibition present two fascinating and very different studies into avatars as art, and both are recommended visits.

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