Wednesday May 10th 2023 saw the opening of a new exhibition of work by Wicked Eiren at the Heartsong Erotica Galleries owned and curated by Luanamae Heartsong. Entitled Ocean’s Dance, this is a small but utterly captivating selection of black-and-white / monochrome pieces is located in the West Gallery at Heartsong. All of the images feature the-artist-as-the-model, and all convey and emotional depth and narrative strength.
I first encountered Wicked’s avatar-focused SL photography in June 2022, when Dido Haas hosted Body Language/The Invisible Woman, an intensely powerful visual narrative focused on Wicked’s life as someone suffering from Complex Chronic Disease – also known as Central Sensitivity Syndromes (CSS) and it resultant psychological impact, in terms of both the condition and the reaction of others around the sufferer to their situation, it can cause (see Art and Complex Chronic Disease in Second Life).
Her condition has not robbed Wicked for her zest for life; she is passionate about the things she enjoys, and as a practicing Buddhist, she does her best to offer a positive, loving outlook in her interactions with all living things she encounters and refusing to allow the demands of CCD / CSS deny her her womanhood as much as she can.
This attitude is very much present within the images presented within Ocean’s Dance, a selection of 16 greyscale images, six of which are reproduced as split monochrome works on three free-standing displays, all of which feature oceanside settings. All are deliberately untitled (other than the name of the exhibition and a number), there only supporting text coming in the form of a single-stanza ode in celebration of the ocean’s call. In this, Wicked notes:
As a creator, I like the image to transcend the viewer into a memory or emotional that is purely of their own intimate personal journey inspired by my work [and] not to be formed from any “title” I might place on it. So please step in and don’t be afraid to dip your toes!
– Wicked Eiren
By leaving the pieces so open to interpretation like this, Wicked does indeed invite us to go where our thoughts opt to walk as when look at the images in this series – a freedom enhanced by the fact that there is not explicit order to viewing the pieces; just enter and appreciate and let go of your imagination.
For me, Ocean’s Dance is once again a celebratory story; the freedom visible in each of the pieces, be it expressed by pose or windswept hair or expression or scudding and seemingly roiling clouds or the foaming splash of a wave, is only too apparent. These are pieces that speak to the core desire of being free in and of oneself to express a vitality and sensuality of life and desire free from labels and unencumbered by thoughts of how the resultant images speak to an audience.
I could continue to was lyrical about Ocean’s Dance, but honestly, and as with Body Language/The Invisible Woman, this is an exhibition which deserves to be seen first-hand.
Luane’s Magical World, May 2023 – click ay image for full size
I had not intended to write about two fantasy / magical places in Second Life one after the other, however, after visiting Xanadu Forest (see: The mystical magic of Xanadu Forest in Second Life), I found that a trip to LauneMeo’s wonderful environments, this time to visit Luane’s Magical World, her most recent creation on her Homestead region, Le Monde Magique.
Luane’s Magical World, May 2023
Luane has a well-deserved reputation for producing engaging, romantic and photogenic environments – and that is the case with Magical Worlds, a place where dragons and alicorns and albino elephants wander the shallow waters under the watchful eyes of giant translucent tubers and silvan trees and fae folk flits and sit upon plants and under the shade of trees in green and pink blossoms rising from a lush carpet of grass.
Luane’s Magical World, May 2023
This is a place of serene beauty, a garden of many faces and many spaces, the first all awaiting discovery, the second all offering places in which to retreat and spend time. The primary landmass forms a circular island sitting in the south-east quarter of of the region. Home to the landing point as it sits overlooking crystal waters bounded on their far side by the silvered wetlands.
Luane’s Magical World, May 2023
While the waters are protected by transparent surfaces making them walkable, to maintain the illusion of the setting, easiest way across the water is to take the ice0like stones as they form a path around the water’s edge and along the wetlands – although beware the odd alicorn also wandering the path.
To describe this setting is really an exercise in futility; it more than speaks for itself. Just be sure to take the time to seek out everything awaiting to be found here – there is likely to be more than a casual wander and camming around might reveal. As such, I don’t plan to say more here; instead I’ll simply leave some further images to offer a shallow reflection of Luane’s creativity in the hope they will encourage you to go and see for yourself. You are unlikely to be disappointed.
Raglan Shire, Second Life’s Tiny community, has once again opened its doors to people from across the grid as participating artists and visitors are invited to the Raglan Shire Artwalk 2023.
This year, the the event runs from Sunday, May 14th, through until Sunday, June 18th, 2023, inclusive. It offers an opportunity not just to appreciate a huge range of art from both the physical and digital worlds, but to also tour the Shire regions and enjoy the hospitality of the Raglan Shire community.
A non-juried exhibition, the Artwalk is open to any artist wishing to enter, and has minimal restrictions on the type of art displayed (one of the most important being all art is in keeping with the Shire’s maturity rating). All of this means that it offers one of the richest mixes of SL art displayed within a single location in Second Life, with 2D art is displayed along the hedgerows of the Shire’s pathways and tree platforms overhead and 3D art among the community’s parks.
Raglan Shire Artwalk, 2023
2022 attracted 150 artists, and 2023 is set to match that number, with many artists participating for the first time. As such, the depth and range of art on display is guaranteed to keep visitors exploring the paths and walks around and through the hedgerows – and if walking proves a little much, there are always the Shire’s tours to ease the load on the feet, together with the teleport boards to help move visitors swiftly around and through the different display areas. But that said, I do recommend exercising your pedal extremities and doing at least some of your exploration on foot – just keep in mind people do have their homes in the regions as well.
Given the number of artists involved, there isn’t a published list of participants, but anyone interested in the world of SL art is bound to recognise many of the names of the artists here. The Artwalk is also a marvellous way to see art from both our physical and digital worlds and for catch artists both familiar and new to your eye. Just don’t try to see it all at once; the Artwalk is open for a month, which gives plenty of time for browsing and appreciating the art without feeling overloaded.
Xanadu Forest, May 2023 – click any image for full size
Fantasy Faire may have passed into memory for 2023, but those who appreciate the splendour and beauty of the Fairelands can recapture the spirit of it, and past Fantasy Faire events through the largesse of Evangeline Ling. She is the creator of the simply stunning Xanadu Forest, a place of mystical magic ringing with the echoes of Fantasy Faire hidden – like Tolkien’s Rivendell, within a deep cleft within the Mainland continent of Sansara.
WELCOME to Xanadu Forest, a place of magic and mystery … Here you are welcome to role-play, explore, relax with your friends or take beautiful photographs for your special memories, or just play a game or two of greedy. We invite you to use the shared environments as our lighting here is part of the attraction and don’t forget to take a visit to our fantasy bowling alley (Even elves enjoy a little bowling too). You will find dryads and elves, Dragons, pirates, scattered evidence of a demonic presence.
– from the introductory note card for Xanadu Forest
Xanadu Forest, May 2023
Comprising multiple levels from the waters at the bottom of its deep gorge to platforms and plateaus amidst its peaks, this is a place of vivid colours, otherworldly plants, winding trails and climbing stairs, all of which fully captures the romance and magic of multiple Fairelands without ever feeling as though it is merely trying to copy them. Thus, it stands as a rich and vibrant land in its own right, as much as standing in homage to Fantasy Faire.The landing point sits high up on one of these platforms, sitting within a build from The Looking Glass and harking back to Fantasy Faire 2022. Here, under the shadow of Ketsui Naidoo’s The Majestic Revived – better known to Fairelanders as The Fairechylde – walkways extend out and across the valley, held aloft by the trunks of giant mushrooms and the faces of cliffs rising and falling to reach other levels, houses and the gardens below.
Xanadu Forest, May 2023
Along the way, there is much to find, again as the introductory note card for the setting describes:
You will find dryads and elves, Dragons, pirates, scattered evidence of a demonic presence. With enough searching you may even find the home of a certain Slenderman (we advise extreme caution entering his home). There are no strict role-play rules in Xanadu, you bring your own RP here or perhaps use Xanadu as a foreign land for your own RP group. Please join our Group, Xanadu Forest, and we will keep you up to date on any fun activities or events. Stop by anytime the forest welcomes you.
– from the introductory note card for Xanadu Forest
Xanadu Forest, May 2023
Also awaiting discovery are teleport points, both light and dark, offering trips to destinations which may appear in opposition to their outward appearance; a hidden gallery of art, a high (literally) elven home and many, many, elements from the Fairelands, from the giraffes of Haveit Neox and the bears of Loki Eliot – even the suspended walkways are liable to bring forth recollections of Fairelands past. There are also one or two unexpected characters to be found along the way!
This is a place so cleverly put together that just when you think you have found everything, you turn around and discover something new and / or unexpected. It might be a throne sat back and above the garden trail or a hollow within the rock where a board game might be enjoyed or an unexpected cliffside path rises, offering an alternate route to where the elven house sits.
Xanadu Forest, May 2023
As with the Fairchylde, the Majestic Revived offers the opportunity for dancing – at least for couples, I didn’t notice any solo dances – and more places to dance are also await discovery as people explore. There are also multiples to sit and / or cuddle and – obviously – endless opportunities for photography.
With regards to the latter, the setting comes with its own EEP settings, and I recommend using them when visiting – just go to World → Environment and make sure Use Shared Environment is checked. Also, and for the fullest experience, make sure local sounds are enabled. Should you appreciate Evangeline’s work in creating Xanadu Forest, or if you are a Fairelander yourself, do please consider a donation towards the future upkeep of the setting.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Nowhere B. – Intimistic Journey
May has brought with it not one but two exhibitions at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas. Whilst both very different in tone and content, they are nevertheless connected in that each has a particular source of inspiration / interpretation.
Occupying the Annex section of the Gallery, and having opened on May 2nd, is a compact exhibition which should be noted as potentially Not Suitable For Work (NSFW), given the subject is nude studies. Entitled Zorian Women, it presents a total of 15 studies of the female form, as imaged by Kian (random26356). Fourteen of these (the 15th is rather more novel in approach!), have been inspired by the nude studies of “the Swedish Impressionist”, Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920).
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Kian – Zorian Women
Zorn was an incredibly gifted artist, a veritable virtuoso working in multiple formats and styles – watercolours, oils, pencil, etching, sculpture – to produce an incredible range of art during his lifetime. A graduate of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, at the age of 29 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur at the 1889 World Fair in Paris, and he would gain international recognition for his portraiture, with subjects including three US Presidents and King Oscar II of Sweden, whilst he and his wife Emma would go on to established The Bellman Prize for Swedish poetry, which is still awarded annually by Swedish Academy.
Zorn’s repertoire included a series of female nude studies which became particularly noted for their unique style. Initially produced in watercolours, these depicted his models fully unclothed and painted against the backdrop of the open countryside of Dalarna, the district where he and Emma lived in Sweden. Such was the form and impact of the pieces in this collection, they became known under the collective name of Zornkulla.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Kian – Zorian Women
It is these works Kian celebrates within his exhibition. This is no easy task, because despite their apparent casualness of presentation, employing a loose brushwork, soft tones and gently blurred edges, the Zornkulla paintings are all incredibly well composed through use of colour, pose, placement of elements such as water and the horizon and features within the landscape beyond the nude subject, all of which results in a visual play: focus on the subject, and she immediately comes into sharp focus, the background dissolving so as not to be noticed. But then focus on the backdrop, and the subject herself appears to dissolve into it, becomes an almost natural part of the landscape, rather than appearing as a something standing within it.
Emulating this technique, Kian offers that same sense of loose brushwork and familiar soft tones whilst adding his own interpretation on Zorn’s Zornkulla, thus offering something fresh and new.
Within the main halls of Nitroglobus is the first solo exhibition by Nowhere B. A relative newcomer to SL photography and to the art exhibition scene here – his first time exhibition was at an ensemble event in 2021 – there could not be a better, more nurturing environment than Nitroglobus under Dido’s stewardship, by which he could spread his wings into the world of solo exhibitions.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Nowhere B. – Intimistic Journey
Entitled Intimistic Journey, this is an engaging and somewhat personal selection of pieces by Nowhere B., representing as it does a record of his journeys through Second Life’s richly varied landscapes and settings, whilst also offering hints of his inner responses and experiences during those visits (hence the intimist subtext to the title).
Given this, these are not you usual captures of places seen in Second Life. Instead they offer a highly personalised perspective (in places quite literally!) and narrative to present not just reflections on the places Nowhere visited, but his potential mood and thoughts on seeing them. This is helped in part by the artist including himself – and his John Steed-like bowler and brolly – in many of the images in a manner that draws us into his thinking without bashing u over the held with obviously posed context and narrative.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Nowhere B. – Intimistic Journey
Taken individually or together, Zorian Women and Intimistic Journey present engaging, highly visual and expressive exhibitions which can be enjoyed both independently to one another, or as a joint visit to Nitroglobus, with Zorian Women set to remain in place through into the better part of June.
*80 Days* Wind River, May 2023 – click any image for full size
For the April / May / June build at *80 Days*, Camila Runo offers people the opportunity to roam a small corner of America’s frontier Old West, with a visit to Wind River, a small settlement in the middle of the mid-West, where cattle are brought it for possible herding along the trails to wherever the nearest railhead might be, and from there by rail to feed the towns and cities of either coast.
Get that Old West feeling at WIND RIVER! A dusty cowtown, a native village and vast plains with wildlife and epic sceneries are waiting for you. Stop by and enjoy.
– Wind River About Land description
*80 Days* Wind River, May 2023
Quite what brought this little town into being is hard to say. Evidence suggests that the location was much used by native Americans – who have an encampment close to hand -, so perhaps there’s a local aquifer that provides good drinking water, even if the “river” of the setting’s name appears to be absent (indeed, the name “Wind River” might either be the westernisation of the Native American for this broad valley running between hills and mountains and forming a corridor along which the dusty wind is prone to barrel, or is perhaps a touch of dry cowboy humour, given that self-same wind as it blow dust up and across the town).
Perhaps that aquifer, and its distance between significant points of habitation / commerce made the location a ideal point for the Pony Express to establish a waystation where horses and riders could rest-up, then when the Wells Fargo Company came through, using the old Pony Express routes as the easiest means to transport passengers from point-to-point, expanding the old waystation into a full-blown stopover. With this in mind, it’s easy to imagine some enterprising individual coming up with the idea to build a hotel to offer tired passengers with a comfortable overnight stay in a warm bed (for a small price!), the hotel in turn encouraging the rest of the town to grow up before it to become a natural focal point for the local small-hold ranchers to bring their cattle ready to join forces and drive them on to the railhead, as noted above.
*80 Days* Wind River, May 2023
Whatever the story behind its origins, it’s clear that Wind River has grown into a small, but vibrant place of commerce; beside the hotel, its Main Street boasts a bank, a large saloon, a bathhouse, and medical-come-veterinary-come-dental practice, a good sized general store, an undertaker, its own town sheriff (complete with gallows to the rear!) and a town hall / court house where some of those incarcerated in the sheriff’s cell might presumably find themselves prior to making a journey onwards to said gallows…
From the flags hanging outside the town hall, I’d guess the time period for the setting lay some time between early 1867 and the start of 1890. I say this because while the flags are short one red stripe, they do contain 38 stars, and while Colorado did not officially become the 38th state of the United States until 1876, a Stars and Stripes with 38 stars was commonly in use in the period from early 1867 through until the start of 1890, when the former Dakota Territory was formed into the states of North and South Dakota.
In support of the above, I’d also note that the town hall celebrates all of the US presidents from Washington through to Grover Cleveland, whose portrait take pride of place behind the main desk / judge’s bench, suggesting he is the current incumbent of the White House “back east”. As he first took office as president in 1885, this tends to further confirm the setting as being set some time between then and 1889.
*80 Days* Wind River, May 2023
The landing point for the setting sits within the stables located at one end of the town’s Main Street, facing down the hotel at the far end. It’s not a long walk down to the hotel, and it is one worth taking as the buildings flanking the dry, dusty street are all furnished in keeping with the setting’s time period and offer opportunities for photography along the way. The raised sidewalks also have some nice touches, such as the planks reaching between the Sheriff’s office and the undertaker’s and town hall; it was not uncommon for the streets of frontier town to turn to quagmires after heavy rains, and so planks connected the raised sidewalks fronting building in this manner were not uncommon, helping townsfolk minimise the need to slog through sucking mud that could be ankle-deep.
For those who prefer, the stables offer a horse rezzer at the hitching post outside, allowing the rest of the landscape to be explored from the relative comfort of a saddle. A trail pointing north from here leads the way past the cow pens to where the main Wells Fargo station sits, a newly-arrived stage sitting outside. Along the way the trail passes a fork leading to one of the small homestead ranches, while the chuck wagons of another ranch crew are parked on the grassland just off the trail – presumably belonging to those who have herded the cattle now contained within the town’s pens.
*80 Days* Wind River, May 2023
This is a place where bison still roam – possibly another cause for the presence of Native Americans – and a small group can also be encountered grazing quietly, although a large bear is watching them and possibly weighing the odds of being able to pull down old of the older members of the little herd and have himself a meal.
Away to the south-west of the town, a long shoulder of rock descends from the mountains to act as a natural buffer between the the town and a small Native American encampment. With teepees arranged around a central fire pit and ponies grazing free, the encampment serves a special purpose, as explained by the information card available from the landing point:
Inside one of the teepees there’s small museum of Native American History (late 19th/early 20th century). There are several dream catchers with old photos of indigenous people. Once you touch them, you will get a notecard with information about a certain tribe. Please note that the choice of tribes displayed here doesn’t reflect any personal preference of the sim owners! It should be considered a representative cross section to raise our visitors’ awareness of the past and the today’s life situation of the Native Americans in general.
*80 Days* Wind River, May 2023
There are some small anachronisms present in the build (the saloon features a pianola for example (an instrument which wasn’t available until 1896) which can be heard playing Joplin’s The Entertainer (which wasn’t written until 1902); however, I’d say that such anachronisms actually add a further little quirk to the setting, rather than taking anything away from it. Anyway, they are more than compensated for by those little additional touches of authenticity mentioned above, and which also include a reward poster for one Dave Allen “Mysterious Dave” Mather, a man who led a very interesting (if not untypical for the period) life – eventually more than living up to his sobriquet, given so little is known about his fate!
Rich in detail and atmosphere (do make sure you have local sounds enabled when visiting!) Wind River is another superb setting from Camila and her co-owner, ZamiTio.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 