Open through October at the NovaOwl Sky Gallery is an exhibition of art by Louvre (Iamlouvre), a physical world artist who is now making her mark in Second Life, having joined (I believe) in 2021. This is the first time I have witnessed at exhibition of her work, and found it to be richly expressive.
Entitled Agua (the Spanish for “water”), this is an exhibition which fully embraces the space in which it displayed, Louvre demonstrating that as well as being a skilled artist, she has an innate sense of space and design, offering an environment that neatly folds itself around the exhibition’s theme, with the art split between the two levels of the gallery.
Water symbolises much more than an infinite space where we lose ourselves when we look to sea. Water symbolises transformation, Life. All of us are water.
– Louvre (Iamlouvre)
NovaOwl Sky Gallery, October 2023: Louvre – Agua
On the upper level, prints of her work are mounted on easels and walls, some of the latter backed by curtains of water tumbling to the floor below. On the lower level, this water spreads across a floor decorated with squares, some just below the surface other rising above it. All offer a sense of being stepping stones, encouraging visitors to make their way across them. These squares and mirrored by cubes and blocks climbing up the walls, the shimmering curtains of water visible in the gaps between them.
Close to the gallery entrance, sixteen cubes present sixteen paintings by Louvre, each painting repeated on all six faces of the cubes. Further back sit two larger cubes, each with an image of one of her paintings projected within it whilst further pieces are mounted on easels in an intentionally understated display, the entire level dominated by a single piece entitled Submarine.
Almost all of the paintings might be seen as portraits of a most unique kind. Few present a complete individual; rather they present images wherein the subjects are blurred or obscured, as if seen through a sheen of water, or with their subjects incomplete of cracked and fractured. In amongst them are paintings of a more abstract nature, but even these contain a sense of water-like fluidity and motion.
NovaOwl Sky Gallery, October 2023: Louvre – Agua
All of this is heavily suggestive of the opening lines of Louvre’s description for Agua, of water giving, being and transforming life. But there is more here as well, as Louvre goes on to note:
Water is also the tears produced by pain and sorrow. It is the force of the DANA flood that just hit my city. Washing away the homes of many neighbours and friends, taking within it their daily objects and their homes. Never in all my life have I been able to contemplate a greater disaster so closely.
Water is the effort of my hands helping them, to the point of exhaustion, with water and more water.
– Louvre (Iamlouvre)
Storm Dana lashed Spain with torrential rain in early September, causing widespread flooding, particularly in the region of Castilla La-Mancha, home to the cities of Madrid and Toledo, with water levels rising such that streets, major transport arteries – and most particularly, homes were overwhelmed. Such was the force of the water in places that cars were overturned or smashed together and evacuations were ordered. At least two deaths occurred, and several more people were reported missing.
NovaOwl Sky Gallery, October 2023: Louvre – Agua
It is this devastation, this sense of loss Louvre conveys through her paintings through their blurred / missing / incomplete elements. This reflection of Dana’s destruction is – as Louvre notes – very personal. She has witnessed the loss and hurt it has caused, and sought to help alleviate it through practical support for those around her hit by the storm’s ferocity. That this has also triggered her creativity through her art additionally completes the circle represented by Agua: that as a force of nature, water has the power to both positively and negatively bring about transformative experiences in life.
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023 – click any image for full size
Halloween is rolling around for 2023, and once more we’re starting to see region designs marking the time of year pop-up, whether along “traditional” Halloween settings with pumpkins and a light touch of ghostliness and spookiness, or with a deep footing in horror and / or bloodthirsty goings-on. As such, it is often hard to choose particular regions and locations to cover; after all, when you’ve seen one pumpkin patch, you’ve seen them all, regardless of whether or not they feature a small boy with a blanket steadfastly awaiting the gift-giving arrival of a mythical creature. However, there are exceptions.
For example, the annual Halloween regions delivered to the grid by Ty and Truck and the team at Calas Galadhon (of which I’ll have more in the near future) or – for this article, the realm of Witherwood Thicket, the latest Frogmore instalment from the imaginations of Frogmore owner Tolla Crisp and her companion-in-building, Dandy Warhlol (terry Fotherington).
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023
A Gothic Tale told in shades and shadows upon an English Moor, inspired by works of Edgar Allen Poe.
– Witherwood Thicket About Land description
The above description does much to sum this setting up, providing sufficient information to inform visitors they are about to enter a world edged in mystery-horror; one with a slant towards the English moorlands (take your pick, we have a fair number which are all known for their outstanding beauty and wilderness feel, starting far down in the West Country and then scattered all across England (as well as Scotland and Wales also having their shares of equally enchanting moorlands). However, it also leaves more than enough unsaid to practically demand a visit.
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023
Whilst it is an American master of the of the macabre mentioned within the region’s About Land description, the broad strokes of some parts of Witherwood Thicket might bring to mind images of mist-filled nights deep within the mires of Dartmoor, and the tall, slender form of Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes leading Nigel Bruce’s Dr. John Watson as they attempt to track a certain demonic hound. At the same time a certain part of the setting might have some imaginations edging towards thoughts of Tolkien, whilst throughout are elements of horror, the occult and monsters which might well give H.P. Lovecraft a reason to smile.
Which is not to say the region is in any way mishmash; far from it. Everything here has been well placed, with multiple buildings dressed to encourage visitors to step inside, with the passage around the region nicely set to present something of a visual narrative – although precisely what the story within it might be is left up to our imaginations.
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023Journeys through Witherwood Thicket commence at the landing point, well to the south and west of the region, where sits a fortified gatehouse, now roofless and all but deserted. It sits on a narrow spit of land with water on three sides, but it is not hard to picture the route through its twin arches having once provided access to wooden wharves where vessels might have at one time sailed for and to, laden with goods both coming and going. Or if not docks, then perhaps the mind might picture the tongue of land straddled by the gateway marching onwards a distance before the opening out once more beyond the region’s edge, the waters to either side allowing the stone walls of the gatehouse and the great gates which doubtless once stood under its arches form a natural defensive point.
Beyond this ancient structure, the land rolls inwards to a second arched gateway flanked by defensive towers, the path between the two bordered by the skeletal ranks of trees either side and they stand-in for any curtain walls which may have – if the imagination runs that way – between gatehouse and gateway. Once through the third arch, the path become further hemmed in on either side by a tall crop of something or other watched over by a scarecrow as spooky as the watcher standing guard over the path running from the gatehouse.
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023
Once past the crop and its guardian, the setting becomes more moor-like (so to speak), the path turning into an unpaved road curving through a small village. Here, lights spill out from shaded windows and / or doors stand open, inviting people in. Yes there are hounds here that may not appear entirely friendly (but are hardly demonic, to return to my earlier reference!), but the houses deserve time to look inside, as each presents its own sense of mystery and / or the occult. As the road passes between them, so it reveals the looming form of a castle perched up on a hill and watching over affairs. Perhaps the old gatehouse once formed a part of its defences – or perhaps not.
The village, riven in two by the passage of a deep gully with choked waters at its bottom and best crossed by the sturdy bridges, is actually more extensive than might first appear to be the case. There is, for example, the moulding manor house to be found at the end of another rocky promontory pointing a crooked finger out to sea and, across a small bay from it and directly below the village, the crouching form of an old cabin which might look quite at home deep with America’s bayou country, giving a further little twist to the setting. There’s also the village church and graveyard and, acting like a magnetic, the castle sitting high on its rocky perch.
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023
The castle is best reached by passing through the village and following the road as it becomes more of a trail heading back eastwards and then south to where a lighthouse rises out of the mist in impressive fashion to vie with the castle in terms of providing the highest view out over the landscape. It is here as well that the touch of Tolkien enters the imagination. Climbing the rocky incline leading up to the castle, it is hard not to look back at the lighthouse and expect to see a fiery eye staring unblinking out over the landscape as Sauron’s was said to have done from the highest point of Barad-dûr.
As for the castle, this offers its own sense of mystery. While the halls and rooms within its walls and towers are empty, its courtyard is set for some form of event – although what this might be is again left to the imagination. Then there is the second great house, no more than a stone’s throw from the lighthouse and sitting ablaze at the water’s edge, a burning ship close by. They both beg for visitors create a tale for why they are burning, be it the result of the demon on the terrace leading to the house or something else.
Witherwood Thicket, October 2023
Rich in detail – much of it intentionally not covered here – and presented with a fitting environment setting and a soundscape heavy with the cry of crows (possibly standing-in for ravens, given the Poe reference 🙂 ), Witherwood Thicket is a place you’ve want to spend a decent amount of time exploring and which (it really goes without saying) is highly photogenic.
October 2023 sees artist and builder Cica Ghost presents something a little different for Second Life users to enjoy. In Cica’s Workshop we find not a new fantastical landscape or garden or alien world or other setting where our imaginations might go wandering through thoughts of faerie and folk tales or memories of childhood or other such avenues. Instead, it sits as a kind of living gallery, a celebration of many of Cica’s creations down the years, and a place where if we’re so-minded we can pick up copies of her work either directly or via convenient links to her Marketplace listings.
For those with a long familiar with Cica’s work, this is a chance to take a walk down memory lane – which I found myself doing. For example, throughout the region-wide exhibition there are her 2D drawings, large and small, which carry with them memories of installations such as The Visitors (2014), wherein she brought a flavour of occupancy to the former art centre The Lost Town – La Città Perduta. These figures also offer a reflection of her monochrome characters from her 2012 installation Cica, which rightly brought her widespread attention in Second Life, and also 2013’s Ghostville, which I believe is the first of Cica’s installations I ever blogged.
Cica Ghost: Cica’s Workshop, October 2023
Meanwhile, up on the flat crown of a hill sits a pastel cream garden and little house. The latter brings to mind many of Cica’s builds stretching all the way back to around 2014 as well, when her Little Villagemade its first appearance. These little houses, varying in size whilst often retaining their general looks and proportions, have gone on to appear in many of Cica’s designs, such as Moonlight (2016, and still one of my favourites among Cica’s installations) and very uniquely within Drawn Town (2019).
This is a place inhabited by many of Cica’s animal and creature creations, from her ever-popular sheep and cows, through to her dinosaurs, which I think first appeared within 20022’s Dinosaurs andCoconuts, her residents of Burlap, and cast from Monsters and ever-friendly Elephants (all from 2020) – and more besides.
In addition, several new characters are waiting to befriend visitors, whilst the installation also includes many items from Cica’s furniture range for those looking for something a little different for home and / or garden. And if you fancy having a near-avatar scale sandcastle for your beach or spending a little time in an anti-gravity cage – Cica has you covered.
Cica Ghost: Cica’s Workshop, October 2023
Even for those who may be relatively new to Cica’s work and her marvellous imagination, Cica’s Workshop offers and lot to see and enjoy – and possibly purchase along the way. As such, and while it may not be a “traditional” Cica presentation, it nevertheless shouldn’t be missed.
Otter Lake, September 2023 – click any image for full size
Angel (BabyCatHead) IM’d me recently to suggest I visit Otter Lake, Sharon Hinterland’s ever-evolving setting in Second Life. As it’s getting on for a year since my last visit, I thought I should take her suggestion and drop in once more. Originally a Homestead region and Sharon’s home in SL – and a place I first visited back in 2019 after Sharon opted to make it a public destination (and to which I’ve returned on a number of occasions since) – the location has since moved on to a Full private region product, with Sharon continuing to re-develop it on a regular basis and offer new sights and touches.
With this iteration in particular, she has created two distinct but connected / related settings, the first at ground level and the second on a region-wide skybox level, 1250 metres overhead. They are distinct, because whereas the ground level setting retains the general rural vibe of the last iteration of the region I wrote about, the sky platform presents an entirely urban setting. However, linked as they are by a collision teleport disguised as a road tunnel, there is a suggestion that the urban setting lies on the limits of a larger conurbation, a place of mixed age and use, whilst the ground-level setting is the countryside just a short drive away from the town / city.
Otter Lake, September 2023
While retaining the rural vibe from the previous build, this Otter Lake ground level build is by no means just a continuance of the prior design – it very much has its own look and feel; one that to me, making a first return since the last time I covered it in November 2022, gave the suggestion that rather than being completely removed from that prior design, I’ve perhaps moved a modest number of kilometres along the same stretch of coastline to find myself in the current setting.
This is a place sitting within what appears to be a broad bay, a single tongue of land connecting it to the surrounding hills and providing a point of emergence for the tunnel which appears to dive under them to provide passage between coast and town. A paved road runs around the periphery of the landscape, linking the landing point to the north with the tunnel mouth to the south. Two wooden drawbridges help the road cross the channel of water separating the spit of land on which the landing point sits with the bulk of the landscape, so it doesn’t matter which direction you opt to take at the start of any wandering around the setting.
Otter Lake, September 2023
That spit of land, a long ribbon running west-to-east along the length of the region, with a lighthouse and small beach at one end and an aging gas station and garage at the other. Along the way the road between these two extremes passes a camp site, the landing point, cabins (some in better condition than others!) and a little café.
Across the water and particularly visible from one of the bridges is a building of mixed ancient / modern design which immediately caught my eye – Marcthur Goosson’s NO Cottage Bizar. It’s a structure I fell in love with after first coming across it at the start of 2023 courtesy of Clifton Howlett (see: A Highland Retreat on Second Life), and which I went on to purchase and kitbash for my own purposes (as related in The NO Cottage Bizar in Second Life). Here it has been used as a rather interesting residence, one of a number across the landscapes – none of which are private residences, but are instead open to the public.
Otter Lake, September 2023
As well as the houses, there are other structures awaiting discovery, particular along the rutted track cutting across the landscape. This offers the chance to find the haunted chapel ruins – a nod to Halloween, perhaps. Also waiting to be found are ponds, a stream with its own falls, meandering paths and numerous places for sitting and cuddling all of which adds up to an attractive sitting rich in detail.
Step through the tunnel and you’ll arrive in the town. Unlike the undulations of the ground-level setting, this offers a single level location encompassing a run-down industrial area where the main factory has long been shut-down and deserted, except for a single warehouse which has taken on a new lease of life. Across the road, the old steel works is now a club-come-bar carrying the name The Forge, whilst the rest of the western side of the setting has a similar aged and careworn look and feel to it.
Otter Lake, September 2023
This transition as one moves eastwards, the roads passing though and between tired apartment blocks with businesses along their ground floors to reach an open park bordered on two sides by much neater and news apartments / townhouses. Some of the buildings along they are mere façades, while others are furnished and inviting explorers to step inside. Those who climb high enough through some of the building might find some rooftop retreats for those who might want to spend time tucked away.
Sharon always produces richly detailed environments ripe for wandering and photography, and this iteration of Otter Lake is no exception.
As I write this, it is a little over nine months since Aneli Abeyante announced that her long-running Second Life Art gallery, La Maison d’Aneli would be closing at the end of its (then) new exhibition, which opened on December 14th, 2022. However, passions, ideas and creativity tend not to always behave or turn out as we planned, and frequently have a habit of demanding release even when we think otherwise.
Here I am at the end of my adventure as a gallery owner, of course I will stay on Second Life as a simple artist … I thank all the people who accompanied me …. what a beautiful adventure we have shared, more than twelve years with an exhibition per month, and you always there. Long live creation!
– Aneli Abeyante, December 2022
In Aneli’s case – and to our good fortune – La Maison d’Aneli refused to simply pass into Second Life history, and instead insisted she continue to breathe life into it and allow it to continue to bring regular ensemble exhibitions. And so it is that, on September 27th, 2023, the gallery officially re-opened with a set of five individual exhibitions by noted SL artists.
Occupying a location pretty close to (if not right on top of) that of the last iteration of itself, La Maison d’Aneli once again offers its familiar ground-level landing point, complete with event venue and exhibition hub. The latter presents direct teleports to each of the current exhibitions in progress, while a separate additional teleport disk network allows for quick transfers between allow five and a return to the ground level.
For its re-opening, the gallery features exhibitions by Asperix Asp, Xirana Oximoxi, Morlita Quan, Deyanira Yalin and Aneli herself. Given the names involved, you can be sure that these are exhibits that will engage both eye and mind, and it is recommended that they are each visited under the default Shared Environment and with Advanced Lighting Model enabled.
Asperix Asp is a digital artist hailing from Spain and who has been creating and displaying his digital artwork since 1985, not long after trade more traditional methods of artistic expression for the keyboard, mouse, monitor screen and other tools of the digital age. His work has been critically acclaimed and award-winning, and over time has grown from purely 2D to encompass 3D modelling and seeking expression through diverse natural inspiration – such as via paludarium (a type of vivarium incorporating both terrestrial and aquatic aspects). From 2007 through 2014 he explored and exhibited his work within virtual spaces such as Second Life, before taking a leave of absence through until 2020.
La Maison d’Aneli, September 2023: Asperix Asp
Within this exhibition he presents a selection of his fractal art under the title Demiurgia. It comprises sixteen quite exquisite pieces, each one exhibiting the beauty of finely-crafted jewellery. But whether each image is that of an individual piece, or represents the focus on a single facet of a much larger piece, is impossible to say; each image is unique unto itself, yet all are bound one to another through the subtle use of colour, tone, form and finish.
Two-dimensional art they may be; but there is something fundamentally tactile captured within each one, as if in reaching out to them we could feel the soft cold/warmth of the metal, the tiny crystal-like roughness of the filigrees and burnished peaks and troughs formed by the turn of the metals. These are pieces we can see are formed through the artistry of a true artesian – and in that, the title for the exhibition has been well chosen.
Hailing from Catalonia, Xirana Oximoxi is an artist whose work is very much driven by a mix of her experiences, moods and outlook, informed by impressions and reflections on the world at large. As such, her work is constantly in flux, often being driven by the words on the printed page or as a result of a day’s reflections or through research into ideas and explorations of new means of expressionism.
La Maison d’Aneli, September 2023: Xirana Oximoxi
With the Undefined, she presents reflections on the relationship between an artist – in this case a cartoonist – and the characters they create. It’s a story itself told in the form of a comic strip. It is very much driven by that process of discovery, research and expression. As Xirana notes in introducing it:
The comic strips tell stories of everyday life, dreams, fantasies and thoughts. The main objective is to learn how to create cartoons by doing it and also to make the reader smile. They are inspired by nonsense, by that is silly and illogical and by the Theatre of the Absurd.
– Xirana Oximoxi
However, within this flow of apparent light-heartedness runs a deeper pondering: who is ultimately in control of things? The cartoonist or the characters and creations to which they give birth and form? Is it the artist who drives the creative process – or the creative process which drives the artist?
Morlita Quan is a multi-faceted artist I’ve long admired, having written about her art and installations within Second Life on numerous occasions within this blog. As a musician and recording artist specialising in experimental music, she has achieved considerable success. Starting in 2008 and continuing through to the present, she has particularly sought to combine music and other art forms utilising emerging technologies, often collaborating with numerous Fine Arts universities and also with other artists – be they visual, musical, spoken word or performance.
La Maison d’Aneli, September 2023: Morlita Quan
As a visual artist, Morlita has followed a similar path of experimentation with genres, techniques, subjects and forms (both 2D and 3D), as well as seeking to collaborate with other artists in both physical and virtual spaces. Here she presents a broad cross-section of her work: abstract paintings, 3D pieces, photographs; studies of the natural and still life captures brought together in a compelling and stunningly fluid selection of work.
“Experimentalist” is a term which might also be used with Deyanira Yalin. Having begun her artistic journey painting in oils and acrylics and participating in physical world expositions in Mexico City, the years she expanded her technique and portfolio, firstly through other canvas-based media prior to embracing digital means to explore new opportunities and potentials – something which brought her to Second Life.
More recently – and like many artists in L and beyond – she has more recently started to experiment with the Midjourney AI tool, about which she notes:
It is a new platform for artists to express what we think and how we visualize the piece. It has made a significant impact on me and my creativeness, and you will see that influence in some of these pieces in the exhibit. But, I add my own personal touch and interpretation with Photoshop to each piece to give it my artistic personalisation.
– Deyanira Yalin
La Maison d’Aneli, September 2023: Deyanira Yalin
Like many, I am admittedly ambivalent about Midjourney and its growing popularity, largely as a result of the blasé attitude those behind the application have towards matters of copyright and fair use (a criticism not limited to Midjourney, to be sure).
However, like any tool, the key to something like Midjourney is how it is employed and what the user – artist or otherwise – brings to the table for use alongside Midjourney in order to create art, rather than simply combine images from other sources to meet a descriptive requirement (which is essentially what Midjourney does). In this, Deyanira demonstrates she brings a lot to the table by way of her own artistry and talent, as the pieces offered in her exhibition at la Maison Aneli demonstrate.
La Maison d’Aneli, September 2023: Aneli Abeyante
For her exhibition Aneli takes us into a 3D world of animated prims and images. There is not a lot to say about this installation – not because it lacks for description, but rather because its geometry and form should be seen and appreciated rather than merely described
Spark Project: Olympus, September 2023 – click any image for full size
The SPARK Project is a public region building project by Raven Frostwych (RavenStarr) which periodically offers a new location for people to visit and appreciate. Currently, Spark is presenting Olympus, Raven’s take on the the the mountain from which the most famous 12 of the gods of ancient Greece were said to have their residence (hence their collective name “Olympians”).
Within that mythology, these gods were said to live on the highest summit on the mountain – Mytikas Peak. However, for her build, Raven offers a setting much more imaginative, tying together other elements of mythology, some from the legends of ancient Greece and one which – whilst turned into something of an ancient creature commanded by Zeus meme courtesy of 2010’s Clash of the Tians – actually has very little to do with ancient Greece or the Olympians, but which nevertheless fits this setting.
Spark Project: Olympus, September 2023
Occupying a Full region leveraging the Private region land capacity bonus, Raven’s Olympus features the home of the gods as an archipelago of lush islands held aloft, some stacked one above the other, by four huge Titans. The race of immortals who preceded the Olympians who were overthrown by Zeus and his siblings – the 3rd and 4th generation immortals – after the decade-long war of called “the Titanomachy“, the majority of the Titans were imprisoned in the abyss of Tartarus, far below Olympus and the world following their defeat.
Here, in holding aloft Olympus, Raven’s Titans are both figuratively held below the Olympians as if in permanent servitude, whilst also echoing the fate of Atlas in having to hold aloft the heavens, except here their fate is to forever hold up the abode of the gods who have usurped them. That said, Atlas might be also be found here as well.
Spark Project: Olympus, September 2023
The landing point is located on the uppermost of these semi-floating islands, alongside an amphitheatre and the Olympian temple. The latter forms a club where events are at times held, the amphitheatre providing a place where 11 of the 12 Olympians, together with some of the lesser deities and offspring of Hera and Zeus, might watch over the celebrations, with Zeus seated in his throne. Poseidon, the 12th Olympian, sits apart, rising from a pool of water between amphitheatre and club.
The landing point includes a teleport point listing the major destinations within Olympus. This works through a Second Life Experience, so be sure to join it when touching a destination on the teleport board for the first time. However, for the fullest appreciation of the build, I strongly recommend following the paths and stairs running throughout the build and connecting all of the points of interest – including touches of Greco-Roman mythology tucked away here and there.
Spark Project: Olympus, September 2023
Descending through the lush levels will also bring visitors closer to the four huge Titans, their stone faces revealing nothing of what they might be thinking about their situation, keeping the realm of their victors and keep it clear of the waters far below.
As calm as these water might appear, even with the falls dropping freely from the gardens of the gods, they actually hides a secret – although whether awakened by a cry from Liam Neeson per the aforementioned film or not is debatable, given the Kraken is rooted in Norse mythology than it has anything to do with Zeus and his pantheon. I’ll leave it to you to work out how to get down to him; all I’ll say is despite his reputation, he doesn’t seem that unpleasant.
Spark Project: Olympus, September 2023
There is an undeniable beauty to this design that reaches well beyond its mythological foundations. It’s clear that a considerable amount of thought has gone into the overall design. For those unfamiliar with how to best appreciate the location as it is designed to be seen, the landing point includes information boards on recommended viewer settings, whilst awaiting discovery are multiple places to sit and pass the time, together with pre-placed poses for those wishing to take pictures. All of the main locations have their own points of interest and attractions, but I have to confess to finding the Sanctuary of Dionysus particularly attractive; it is – for me – beautifully relaxing.
Cleverly conceived and perfectly executed, Olympus offer a pleasing mix of exploration, photography and historical mythology – the latter of which might encourage a desire to do a little reaches by those who enjoy the setting but might not be familiar with the mythology interwoven into it. Highly recommended for a visit.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 