Reviews – Page 61 – Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

Memories of Dreams in Second Life

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Inara Pey

*Memories of Dreams, April 2024 – click any image for full size*

Susann Decuir is responsible for drawing me to Memories of Dreams, a marvellously Japanese-themed Homestead region design by Yxes (Yxes Evergreen). she did so when I caught her write-up on the setting in her blog whilst I was largely outworld of SL during March 2024. As regulars to these pages know, almost anything with an Oriental theme will pique my interest, so I noted the SLurl and at the first opportunity on getting back in-world, off I toddled (or rather, my alt toddled!) so I could poke my nose in and have a look.

Spring in a Japanese styled sim….a place to sit and reflect once you’ve explored all the small nooks and crannies. Be sure to notice the Orcas migrating along the coast.

– Memories of Dreams, About Land Description

The setting is one of those which amply demonstrates the adage “Less is more”. Yxes has used a little of 50% of the region’s Land Capacity to produce a wonderfully evocative setting that does not need to be filled to the brim with objects in order to achieve its stated goal.

At least partially surrounded by off-region mountains (I’m actually not sure if it is supposed to be entirely surrounded, because for some reason the 3070 GPU on my current PC has a devil of a time rendering region surrounds where my old 970 rarely worked up a sweat in doing so), the setting is suggestive of a quiet retreat located on a (little-visited?) islet within the Japanese archipelago. The summer retreat, perhaps of a once-powerful Shogun.

The island’s rugged form is dominated by a large pagoda-like building. Perhaps once a home perhaps once a temple, it surrounded by a variety of trees – Japanese maple, Sakura, plum trees and more – which give colour and vitality to the knobbly and uneven mass of the island’s central knoll in a manner flowers and shrubs would not be able to manage. In addition, the trees obviously provide shade and a sense of coolness for those wandering this wildling garden as it sits around the main building.

Below the main structure, to the north-west and north and both sitting withing the island’s shallows, are two further structures. The each sit at the end (or start, depending on your point of view!) of a stone stairway set into the island’s slopes.

Located at the end of the potentially grander stairway – it being quite broad at its lower extent and semi-defensively boxed-in by walls on three sides – is a single-roomed building set upon stone slabs set above the coastal waters. Now a place to enjoy a quiet meal, it’s general design suggests that it may have once been where boats bringing people to the island came alongside.

The second building is also single-roomed, but sits slightly off-shore within the walls of what might be a man-made island. Torii gates and stepping stones over the shallow waters provide access to its gates, and the structure itself, located in a formal sand garden crossed by further stepping stones, has the feel of perhaps once having been a walled temple or shrine, but which is now given over the the art of the tattooist.

Close by this walled setting, and sitting on a low-lying headland, is a Japanese Zen garden offering a walk around its gravel paths and a way down to the island’s eastern beach, where visitors might to watch passing Orca as they frolic off the coast. A second arc of sand lies on the south side of the island. Located within a shallow cove, it is reached by walking down the grassy slopes from the main building.

Throughout all of this, subtle depth is added through the placement of small artistic touches – umbrellas apparently caught on a mysterious updraft so they hover above the entrance to the main building; a broken Torii gate with payer papers still pinned to it; Toro and other lamps scattered around to help hold the night at bay from the paths and steps; sculptures giving further voice to the presence of human hearts and minds on this little isle; and the gentle, watchful eyes of Buddha observing all who come and go, and the dance of Japanese Crane.

All told, a beautifully idyllic and beautifully relaxing (not to mention utterly photogenic) location, and once well worth visiting and appreciating.

SLurl Details

Memories of Dreams (Hawksong, rated Moderate)

Moni’s Discolouration Disrupted in Second Life

Posted on April 3, 2024November 10, 2024 by Inara Pey

*IMAGOLand Art Galleries: Moni Beebe – Discolouration Disrupted*

Having been caught up with things in the physical world for much of March (and still trying to clear up the last few issues as April 2024 starts its merry dance to becoming at part of the year’s history!), I’m caught in something of a game of catch-up with events, exhibitions and what have you. In terms of some exhibitions, there are some I simply won’t get to, as their days are numbered and they’ll have likely ended before I can get to them.

However, there is one exhibition I really wanted to try to cover before it vanishes into the ether (it having opened nigh-on a month ago at the time of writing, on March 6th, 2024). It is Monique Beebe’s Discolouration Disrupted, which (again at the time of writing this piece) is still available at Mareea Farrasco’s IMAGO Art Galleries.

I’ve been an admirer of Moni’s work ever since her first exhibition in Second Life in 2017. Her work, which has until relatively recently focused on avatar studies, is always marvellously expressive and rich on both narrative and, frequently, a degree of subtext as well. Her exhibitions tend to be thematically driven and often highly sensual in nature, and the former is certainly true of Discolouration Disrupted, as evidenced by its subtitle Unveiling the Beauty in Imperfection, which itself might also be seen as a subtextual comment on modern society’s obsession with perfection when it comes to the human body.

No liner notes appear to be provided for the exhibition, allowing viewers to plumb the depths of the pieces and discern their relationship to the central theme for themselves. The pieces are a mixture of still life and animated works – be sure to enable the media option in your viewer (click the movie camera icon towards the top right corner of the viewer window) to see the latter in motion – and all appear (and forgive me if I’m wrong here, Moni) to be digitally generated.

The still life images perhaps offer the clearest link to the theme of beauty in imperfection in the manner they juxtapose clearly beautiful / handsome figures (aka society’s “perfection”) with styles and colour mixes that whilst not undermining the stated beauty of the figure(s) within them offer a degree of discordance with their beauty, drawing the eye from them and imbuing a sense of mismatch or an unfinished feel to them – thus presenting the idea of the imperfect. Yet at the same time it is these very clashes of style and / or the sense of the unfinished which actually provides each piece with a depth of beauty that reaches well beyond what might have been had they been presented as “unblemished” works. The animated images share this to a degree, but also offer additional dimensions to the core theme – the blurring of images, the use of a mask and veils, etc.

And while it may just be my personal interpretation, some of the pieces perhaps present subtextual commentary on society in other ways as well. The likes of Break Away, Hiding, Undisclosed, Empowerment, and even Fish in the Sea, all appear to offer a degree of commentary on current reactionary moves in (particularly) patriarchal / pseudo-religious circles towards matters of a woman’s bodily autonomy, the dismissing of female equality / empowerment, the right to gender identification and self-identification and choice in general.

But again, this is an interpretation informed purely by matters that impact my own thinking, and not necessarily those intended by the artist. You might well – in fact most likely will – find the images within Discolouration Disrupted speaking to you very differently. As such I do urge you to visit this exhibition, and to do so before it does vanish from IMAGO altogether, possibly in the next few days.

SLurl Details

IMAGOLand Art Galleries (Rising Phoenix, rated Moderate)

Spring 2024 at Le Monde Perdu in Second Life

Posted on April 1, 2024January 10, 2025 by Inara Pey

*Le Monde Perdu, April 2024 – click any image for full-size*

Life has been pretty hectic over the last few months for me in the physical world, with much of it coming to a head over March 2024 (hence the lack of blogging most recently). Fortunately, things are now getting back to normal, so it’s time to resume my SL travels once more – and where better to start than my annual springtime trip to Luane’s World and the always picturesque Le Monde Perdu (The Lost World), the public Full region designed by LuaneMeo and Gorba McMahon.

Sitting at the southern extreme of the six private residential regions of Luane’s World, Le Monde Perdu always offers a sense of openness and nature’s warm embrace to visitors. A Full private region boasting the additional Land Capacity afforded such regions, Le Monde Perdu is open to visitors from across Second Life as well as those who opt to live within the estate’s rental regions.

For this iteration, the landing point sits well to the north-east, close to where the region connects to the rest of the estate via a wooden footbridge. Note that visitors are free to wander the paths and tracks of the rental regions, but as asked not to trespass onto the actual homes and gardens therein.

The landing point sits on a shady, grassy knoll overlooking the footbridge to one side, and which is home to a greenhouse converted into an information kiosk on the estate’s available rentals. Two clearly marked paths descend from the knoll, one to the footbridge and the other, longer path gently riding the slope down to the southern half of the region. Both paths have horse rezzers located close to their respective ends, offering visitors the chance to hitch a ride around the setting if they prefer not to walk.

A third route away from the landing point takes the form of a boardwalk stepping down the hill on its west side, presenting visitors with a choice of route onwards as they reach its lower half. One of these leads by way of a clematis-draped wall, to the shaded banks of the region’s lake, which can be easily circumnavigated on foot, with various waypoints on the route around it taking the form of various places to sit and pass the time. These include a little boat out on the water itself, a deck extending out over the waters and a charming little shoreline cottage. A deck adjacent to the latter provides access to a swan boat pedalo rezzer for those who fancy a little ride out on the water under their own power.

Behind the little lakeside cottage, the land rises to a broad, flat-topped hill, home to a much more substantial house that offers itself as a faux watermill. If the wheel once drove any machinery, it’s long been removed and the room it occupied converted for more modern living than a place of work, whilst the water channel the wheel dips itself into looks to be now more decorative than functional, running as it does around three sides of the house. Which is not to say the structure is not in any way graceful or delightful – it most assuredly is, thanks to both the décor and its inherent multi-level design within its two main floors.

Whilst the house is raised above both the lake to its north and curving beach to its west and south, it is not sitting on the highest point within the region; that honour goes to a little greenhouse and garden area located on the flat head of the island’s almost central plateau, which rises above the shoulder of land on which the house sits. It is easily reached from the house on foot, the greenhouse and garden looking as if they are intended for little spring / summer time soirees, once the heat of the day has dissipated a little.

The path leading to the little plateau also offers access to the region’s south-eastern headland by way of a broad, stout bridge. The lighthouse on the headland appears justified, given the bleached bones of a wrecked ship lying of the shoreline below, whilst the placement of the bridge and the small size of the lighthouse in turn suggest whoever lives at the big house has a responsibility for maintaining the latter.

The bridge is required as the lighthouse is separated from the house by a narrow, sheer-sided gorge which forms one end of a finger-like inlet pointing inland almost as far as the southern path down from the landing point. Here again, the water’s edge is marked by multiple places to sit and pass the time, whilst a little canoe presents the opportunity to sit out on the water and enjoy the peace and quiet.

In fact, if there is one thing that this iteration of Le Monde Perdu is not short of, it is in places to sit and tarry – and rightfully so. They are scattered across the setting with a care that ensures they do not feel they are trying to crowd one another out, but to rather encourage people who visit to spend a little time decompressing and just enjoying the natural lie of the land and watch to local wildlife (and the various cats and dogs waiting to be found!). In fact, such is the bucolic peace evoked within the setting, you might spot one or two of the wildlife citizens of the region also chilling out and catching a few Zees!

Finished with a subtle sound scape and offering multiple opportunities for photography, Le Monde Perdu remains one of the must-see / re-visit regions within Second Life. And don’t forget, there’s also Le Monde Magique – Magical World – sitting overhead and wating to be explored as well! I’ll be heading there once more in the near future.

But for now, given all the hustle and strife of the last few weeks in the physical world, Le Monde Perdu is exactly what the doctor ordered by way of recuperation and a return to my SL explorations 🙂 .

SLurl Details

Le Monde Perdu (rated Moderate)

Noa Cloud: Master of Landscapes in Second Life

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Inara Pey

*Maison de la Chouette, March-April 2024: Noa Cloud*

Maison de la Chouette is a new art venue – at least for me – operated by the veritable Owl Dragonash, a superb patron of the arts herself, and also a talented Second Life photographer. A further gallery nestled within the Corsica South Coasters area, it joins the likes of NovaOwl and the galleries at Port Emyniad (and locations in between) in presenting the opportunity for visitors to explore the local landscape and trails and appreciating a rich variety of SL art (see: Art and a walk in Southern Corsica in Second Life).

I was drawn to Maison de la Chouette specifically because it is, throughout March and April, hosting an exhibition of art by Noa Cloud. The holder and creator of [REN] (of Noa is perhaps best known amongst SL explorers as the holder and creator of [REN], which I last visited in May 2023 (see: The idyllic beauty of REN in Second Life). Noa is a gifted writer, a musician and actor, and himself an explorer of Second Life. He is also a talented photographer-artist ([REN] is also home to his own gallery) with a focus on SL landscape and avatar studies.

At Owl’s Maison, he is presenting fifteen images showcasing his landscape work, and they are both beautifully rendered and carry a depth of artistic express which mark them as instantly purchasable for display in anyone’s SL home. Several of the pieces offer images of SL’s wildlife and animals, generally casting them in the most delightful way of telling a little stories of love, companionship, childhood and fun, utilising characters he discovered on his journeys around SL.

The images are present in both panoramic and square formats, with the latter offering a patterned border around them. This reminded me of the old postage stamps with there “crenelated” edges resulting from being torn off of their printed sheets along the perforations surrounding them. This patterning adds to the sense of these images belonging to a special collectable set.

Noa’s gift in his photography is to combine a skilled eye for framing and cropping with an equally keen eye for spotting both detail and the opportunity to offer a story with his work. The result is that there is a certain visual poetry imbued in the finished pieces; a suggestion that if they haven’t had a story or poem written about them, then one is due. Just take Solitary as an example of this or, on a more humorous and enchanting level, Beby Bird (which also stands as testament to the creativity of whoever is responsible for this pairing of birds).

Not that these are pieces that need to be dissected to be appreciated; they can be enjoyed very much in and of themselves, and the setting within Maison de la Chouette’s gentle Tuscan flair of villa and terrace (the is displayed both indoors (both floors) and out) demonstrate how perfectly Noa’s images lend themselves for display at home.

I understand that the “opening” party for the exhibition – in reality, a mid-point celebration – is to be held on March 19th, 2024, commencing at 13:00 SLT with live music by Grace Loudon, followed by a DJ set from 14:00 SLT. Might see you there!

Slurl Details

Maison de la Chouette (Novatron, rated General)

Flower’s Serene Retreat in Second Life

Posted on February 29, 2024January 10, 2025 by Inara Pey

*Serene Retreat, February 2024 – click any image for full size*

In September 2023 I dropped into Shades of Autumn, a homestead region design by Flower Caerndow which she offered for people to visit and photograph. I found it an engaging and autumnal visit, with plenty to appreciate within in (see: Appreciating the Shades of Autumn in Second Life). Earlier in February 2024, Flower opened up her latest region design, Serene Retreat, occupying a Full private region, and given my enjoyment of Shades, I trundled over recently to have a look.

Welcome to a beautiful peaceful retreat and experience the magical beauty of nature. All are welcome to wander and take pictures and find the hidden cuddle spots.

– Serene Retreat About Land Description

This is a place which very much carries on in the spirit of Shades, whilst presenting an entirely new landscape to explore and photograph.

The landing point sits towards the northern tip of the island, close to where a small gallery of Flower’s own SL photography might be found. Whilst picturesque, the pictures serve a dual purpose: as well as offering views of the region, each is a teleporter which will carry a visit to the location it frames. However, given the overall nature of the island, unless you’re in a hurry to get to someone or somewhere, it’s much better to explore using your pedal extremities.

A short walk downhill from the landing is one of the island’s sandy beaches and (if it is your first port of call on arrival) the first of the region’s little places to sit and / or cuddle. For those who prefer, steps leading up from the cobbles surrounding the gallery in its ruined tower provide a way up the neighbouring hill, where a small tea house sits within a Zen garden watched over by a figure of Buddha.

From here, other paths wind their way over the island, notably to the south and east, passing by a ring of standing stones to reach the highest point within the setting as is sits above steep rocky inclines falling away to the sea. Other paths wend their way through a nearby copse, where crystals, hints of exotic plants and some of the local wildlife might be found, together with further places to sit and pass the time in solitude or with others.

Also to be found on the edge of the Zen garden is a pool of crystal-clear water, home to swans and koi carp, and the birthplace of a stream that runs out to a rocky lip before cascading down to be caught by a rocky pool. From here and tumbling over the coastal rocks, it makes its way out to open waters. A mossy / grassy path slips down the hill alongside this stream and its falls, passing a romantic little snuggle point and what appears to be the last remnants of a building. Below these an old track passes, looking like it might have once passed around a good ideal of the island, but which the sea has been gradually reclaiming in places.

Just below the stone flooring of whatever might have once stood here, whilst also running back from the cart track, is a narrow hollow slumped within the arms of the hill. More crystal and exotic flowers are to be found here, together with the open mouth of a tunnel slipping back under the hill and inviting exploration. However, I’ll leave it to you to find out what lies within its caverns.

The eastern side of the island also offers a second beach reached via two stone-stepped paths running down to it. From here, and past the tepee-like sitting area and a swing, you can scramble up on to the island’s rocky feet and make your way around to the south side. It’s not possible to get all the way around the island at close to sea level, but for those who do follow the hill’s lip, a way down to a southern shingle beach and its little sitting spot can be found. This also allows visitors to continue their walk on around the island close to its edge, and thus come to the stream and hollow mentioned above.

Tranquil, photogenic and sitting under a sky mindful of Stevie Davros’s work (which is not to say it is – just that it reminds me of his work – which is to say it has a sense of realism about it which is attractive), Serene Retreat build on the foundations Flower laid with Shades of Autumn whilst offer its own unique and engaging setting for exploration.

SLurl Details

Serene Retreat (rated Moderate)

A return to Bella’s Lullaby in Second Life

Posted on February 22, 2024January 10, 2025 by Inara Pey

*Bella’s Lullaby, February 2024 – click any image for full size*

I’ve always enjoyed visiting Bella’s Lullaby, the homestead region design series by Bella (BellaSwan Blackheart), and have featured many of the various pastoral and rural locations it presents in the pages of this blog. So I was a little surprised to realise recently that I’d actually not visited at all throughout 2023; I thereafter set out a few days ago to put matters to right.

Now occupying a new location, the current iteration of the setting presents something of a windswept island with – to me at least – and feel of it belonging to northern latitudes; perhaps a place off the coast of Scotland or along Europe’s Wadden or Baltic Sea coastlines. Low-lying, it has a dearth of trees, but does has what seems to be rich, loamy soil in which wild grasses and flowers have taken root – and where humanity has inevitably settled, although not burdensomely so.

The main habitation appears to be a little farm, or perhaps it is the local lighthouse keeper’s home. The lighthouse itself is a short distance offshore, sitting on a little nub of an islet. however, it is hardly of the size to provide accommodation – assuming it is not fully automated.

Whichever way, the two cabins of the farm / home preside over the island, fence-lined tracks running from them and past outbuildings to reach the further parts of the landscape to the east, north and south. In the case of the latter two, this means running down to the water’s edge on one side and a little pier on the other, with the track then running back up the second of the two low hills of the island. Its end is marked by the rear half of an old pick-up truck, once converted into a trailer and now again converted into a stable (or horsebox, if mobile), the residence of the local donkey.

Bella’s Lullaby is the perfect spot for some quiet moments, drenched in sunshine and warmed by gentle breezes. A place where you can find calmness and peace, with plenty of photogenic and hangout spots to discover. .

– Bella’s Lullaby About Land description

A converted greenhouse lies en route to the pier, offering both and artist’s retreat and an outdoor seating area. Along the path running north is an old shelter, a book sitting on stool within its lee offering a map of the Florida Keys. Perhaps this is to suggest another place where this island might reside, although its demeanour seems to be too temperate to be the case. The shelter is apparently the abode of the local watchman – or at least, watch-cat; but like most domestic felines, he’s not allowing the demands of work interfere with a comfortable nap!

The island is home to a number of animals, both domesticated and semi-domesticated. Cows graze peacefully, dogs and cats are scattered here and there, and chickens cluck their way around. However, the most numerous inhabitants appear to be the local geese who might have something to say about interlopers clomping around, as the sign at the landing point (alongside the shelter noted above) makes clear!

Birds are also much in evidence, notably those from the TLC brand by Lautlos and True Redrose, and from the Grizzly Creek brand by Morgan Garret. Both of these brands have offered excellent birds to the SL public, many of which I have myself – notably from Grizzly Creek; and it is a shame that Morgan has apparently departed SL – or at least ceased trading as Grizzly Creek.

Also to be found scattered through the setting are various places to sit, making a stay on the island that little be extra engaging. In addition, considerable care has been taken with the local environment setting, such that the sky is one of the most realising I’ve seen of late in any region. It frames the setting perfectly, offering a further sense of pastoral serenity with just a sprinkling of darkness in the clouds to suggest rain might be lurking around. The soundscape also adds considerable depth to the setting, Bella opting to let the local birds speak for themselves and avoid sound makers dotted all over the setting.

Simple, engaging and utterly photogenic, in this iteration Bella’s Lullaby once again captures the eye and lens.

SLurl Details

Bella’s Lullaby (Forks, rated Moderate)

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Spring in a Japanese styled sim….a place to sit and reflect once you’ve explored all the small nooks and crannies. Be sure to notice the Orcas migrating along the coast.

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Welcome to a beautiful peaceful retreat and experience the magical beauty of nature. All are welcome to wander and take pictures and find the hidden cuddle spots.

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Bella’s Lullaby is the perfect spot for some quiet moments, drenched in sunshine and warmed by gentle breezes. A place where you can find calmness and peace, with plenty of photogenic and hangout spots to discover. .

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