Tag: Archetype11 Nova

Over the weekend, Lex Machine (Archetype11 Nova) graciously invited me to visit his latest region design utilising his home region of Solveig ahead of him opening it to the public at large; and I say without reservation that it another absolutely stunning build that cannot fail to engage and captivate – one with the most fascinating (for me) titles: Writer’s Block.

Anyone who has ever seriously spent their time writing either for pleasure or for a living will be familiar with the idea of writer’s block – the inability to come up with original ideas, or to productively put pen to paper / fingers to keyboards.

Contrary to the (sometimes flippant) proclamations of some noted authors that writer’s block doesn’t exist (after all, doctor’s don’t get “doctor’s block”, do they?) writer’s block can take a wide variety of forms, some of them very definitely the result of physical disorders (agraphia). Others can equally be purely psychological and / or self-inflicted.

Ender’s Game author Orson Scott Card, for example, notes that his most frequent form of his writer’s block is the result of knowing, subconsciously or consciously, something he’s written isn’t “right” in some way, be it in terms of character interaction or action, plot narrative or turn, or something else. It prevents him moving forward with a story until he has gone back, located the issue and worked out how to correct it. For others, it can come down to a loss of inspiration, simple distraction or even an over-abundance of ideas.

Lex’s Writer’s Block offers a personification of much of the latter. As with his previous designs, this is an incredible landscape of vignettes and objects that, whilst offered within a contiguous landscape that brings them together, whilst they also stand as potential individual statements of ideas and narrative; exploring them is very much a tour through the mind of a writer / artist.

Symbolism is – as with all of Lex’s designs – to be found through this build, and starts at the landing point, where sits an oversized manual typewriter. It is slowly being overcome by winding vines and thus speaks the the longevity that can genuinely occur with writer’s block. Pages rise from it, either blank or repeatedly printed with the image of a flower – both of which speak to two of the most recognised forms of writer’s block: the inability to get started with writing something, or becoming obsessively stuck on a particular aspect / passage / piece of writing to the point – as with Orson Scott Card, above.

Beyond this is a richly diverse landscape, a walk through the mind of a writer. Buildings stand as half-finished stories or unfinished plots that lay crumbling in the wilderness of the imagination; those that are complete, stand with empty rooms, signifying the structure of a narrative that awaits the décor of the plot and the presence of characters.

Figures human and fantastical, stand and sit as the personification of characters; the interactions between some suggest the waltz of possible interactions they might come to have within their tale; the pose of others personifying the sense of loss of creative vision or the weight or anguish of being unable to complete a story.

Elsewhere, a flight of butterflies passes over the landscape like the flutterings of a half-considered idea, whilst feathers from angel’s wing speaks to the ephemeral nature of such ideas, so easily scattered on the winds of everyday distractions. Meanwhile, the ground offers paths – some obvious, others far less clear.  For the visitor, they offer routes of discovery within the region; symbolically they perhaps reference the ease with the writer’s thoughts can wander in distraction from the task at hand.

As is the way with Lex’s builds, the symbolism throughout Writer’s Block is stunning – but so too is the sheer artistry and the detail.

Lex has a marvellous talent from mixing ideas of scale, as anyone who has visited his previous designs will know. Here, “life-size” buildings share the space with giant carved figures, their contrasts blended through the use of trees and the rise and fall of the landscape itself.

Meanwhile, the smaller details offer both tales of their own that might be both threaded into the overall theme for the region, and also stand as suggestions of narratives waiting for our own imaginations to unwrap. These are incredibly diverse – from the statue of Freddy Mercury standing within a semi-walled garden or the little cottage that comes with mortars ranged in the front garden and the wrecks of a tank and armoured vehicle that flank it.

I have said this before  – and will doubtless say it again in the future; Lex Machine is one of the finest creators of region settings in Second Life today; his work never fails to stun and amaze in its breadth and depth. When building regions, we all pour something of ourselves into them – vision, ideas, wishes; but Lex does something more. Each of his designs invite us to witness not only his creativity, but take us on a journey through his imagination and to share in his thoughts – be they on subjects such as the global pandemic, his love for his partner Anastasia or his own psyche and outlook.

Writer’s Block is a continuation of all of this: breathtaking in scope and presentation, it is a must see for anyone familiar with Lex’s work. And if you haven’t visited his designs in the past, it makes for an excellent introduction – just be prepared to become a fan of his work!

Slurl Details

• Writer’s Block (Solveig, rated Adult)

Archetype11 Nova, currently using the name Lex Machine, recently opened his latest region design on his Full private region of Solveig. Entitled The House That love Built, it is once again a most eye-poppingly imaginative design that completely captures the visitor’s attention and holds it with a fascinating mix of art nature, the expected and the unexpected that is both marvellous witness and difficult to describe.

With his previous two builds, Archetype11 presented vistas that were incredibly visual, rooted deep in the imagination and with a recognition that in Second Life, expression can more-or-less free-form – but which also carried something of a massage to fit the times in which they were built (see Inside mR J’s HoUsE in Second Life and Isolation’s Passengers in Second Life). That House That love Built also carries something of a theme, but one that comes from an altogether different direction.

It’s not usual for me to do such a build … Ana [his SL partner, Anastasia Nova] challenged me to show love with a build; this is the result. it was outside my comfort zone.

– Archetype 11 describing The House That Love Built

The result of this is an incredibly diverse build in which can be found so much that, despite being so varied in content with new scenes seeming to open up at every turn, nevertheless clearly carries the themes of love and sharing throughout.

Spread across a rolling landscape rich in trees, flowers and grass, these scenes may at first appear to be chaotic, or at least random, in placement and tone. Gigantic figures here, a house on the water there, cars either wrecked or being repaired lie scattered about; an overgrown yard, a barn decorated in expectation of a wedding, an old school house, rivers of bright flowers winding through the the rich green of the grass, and blossom hugs the branches of trees to contrast with the greenery of others.

When first seen, the theme of love may be hard to discern; but it is there, perhaps most clearly in the barn that awaits a wedding, a clear sign of the joining of two lives into a union borne by love and affection. But so too can be it found elsewhere, such as within the house over the water. Lit from without, its lamps glowing in the evening light in greeting and warmth, the space within sits empty – a promise of the times to come when it will be jointly furnished to become a home for those living within,a personal place of love and sanctuary.

Similarly, the yard outside might speak to the passage of time and the acceptance of individual hobbies – such as a passion for rebuilding powerful cars; while up on the hill a short distance away sits a little schoolhouse. Tired and ageing it might be, but might it also not stand in reflection of childhood loves and the first innocent hints of romance?

Then there is the setting itself – the cast of the late evening Sun, the softening colours of the sky as they blend with the gentle tones of the blossom in the trees and the wash of colour in the winding trails of tall flowers. All give an air of love’s enchantment across the land, while the little spots to be found across it – a piano here, a swing there; a panic spread beneath a parasol, a boat sitting quietly out on the water, the artist’s retreat on its little island – all further speak to ideas of love, courtship, togetherness and sharing.

And then, of course, there are the statues; rising across the western side of the landscape, they are hard to miss. From great horses frozen in time as they thunder across the land to female figures caught mid-dance or pose to those wreathed in a fine net or shadow and completed by a couple in one another’s arms, these all stand magnificently within the landscape, adding to its ethereal mystery and yet very much a part of it in tone and style.

Even when apparently fragmenting or incomplete, these massive statues add a further depth to the setting. They present a magical scene through which to wander, a place where unicorn roam. Beneath and around their great forms lies a richness of fairytale and romance that extends even to the the ageing cars sitting amidst the tide of flowers surrounding them and under the shadow of old awning.

This is a place where even fears can be subdued: up on a hill sits a head with blank eyes staring wide and mouth open in a primal scream. Liquid Fear may well be its title, but the glass butterflies rising from it remind us that even our deepest fears can be be calmed through the presence of one we love.

I became enamoured with Archetype11’s build from the moment I first set foot in his original Hotel California build some two years ago now. Since then, everything he has produced and shared with us has allowed me to partake in the most incredible of creative journeys, each building on the last. So much so that I can say entirely without hyperbole, that his region designs are some of the most visually engaging, imaginative and photogenic to be found in Second Life. They are also, thanks to the subjects he cares to embrace, some of the most deeply personal to be found in SL, a fact that again draws the visitor into them to a point where they are places the open heart and mind does not so much visit, but participate in.

There is so much more that I could say about The House That love Built – such as the small, but evident nods to past builds -, but really, given it is a place to be experienced first hand, please do go and see it for yourself and take the time to allow it to reveal its stories to you.

SLurl Details

• The House that Love Built (Solveig, rated Moderate)

Archetype11 Nova, aka Schmexysbuddy Resident, has been responsible for some of the most evocative / thought-provoking region builds in Second Life. I’ve covered a number of them in these pages – notably his Hotel California builds; his work embraces landscape design and artistic statement, often mixing ideas and sentiment, ideals and imaginings in an eclectic whole that captivates the eye and challenges us to look deeper, think a little harder and take a closer look at what is being offered.

With Isolation’s Passengers, Archetype11 offers what might be his most provocative  – and possibly his most personal – region design yet. It occupies a private full region that has the additional Full region LI bonus, although it does not currently make use of the extra land capacity. This additional space  – previous builds by Archetype11 / Schmexysbuddy have tended to be on Homestead regions – appears to offer plenty of opportunity for expansion or (perhaps) for multiple environments within the same location.

The foundational aspect for this design is that of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. This is not an uncommon theme within art and region design at present, but with Isolation’s Passengers, Archetype11 offers a different perspective on the pandemic, one which – as noted – touches on the personal for him, as he noted to me whilst I was visiting the region:

It’s intent is the onslaught of 2nd and 3rd order effects of isolation that aren’t readily visible…the invisible passengers of this pandemic. It was inspired by the death of a friend and brother of mine.

– Archetype11 Nova, describing Isolation’s Passengers

The story of that death can be found here, and should be read as a part of a visit to this region, as it helps to frame some of the motifs to be found within it.

For those unfamiliar with the concepts of the 2nd and 3rd order effects of isolation, in the 1980s and as a part of studies into the long-term impact of isolation can have on the psyche among groups such as submariners, small teams on long-duration expeditions in the Antarctic and crews aboard the International Space Station. In particular, they noted three distinct reactions to being so isolated, linked to different points in  the isolation period.

The first order comes early on, encompassing the initial weeks / months of isolation.  It is marked by heightened anxiety, possibly mixed with periods of confusion and panic (think of the early stages of the the pandemic: anxiety over lock-downs, panic buying of toilet rolls, etc.). The second order (sometime referred to as the “sourdough order”) is marked by a sense of routine, possibly edged with a sense of newness / novelty (again, in terms of the pandemic: the novelty of working from home, the formation of a new routine based on self-motivation, etc). And then there is the third order. This is more negative: the dropping of routine as everything blurs into a never-ending whole where days are difficult to separate, and encompasses resentment towards our situation and towards those who are around us (not so much because of who they are but rather because they represent the fact we cannot interact with anyone else), and is a time that can be marked by emotional outbursts, aggressiveness, rowdy or anti-social behaviour.

The 3rd order can often include a further emotional response that might appear as contrary to the others listed for it: that of anticipation – the sense that things will soon be over, and life can “get back to normal”, which in turn can lead to further frustration as “the end” doesn’t seem to get any closer, despite the passage of time.

Within Isolation’s Passenger’s we see many motifs representing elements of the second and third order effects of isolation – take the line of large masks with waterfalls falling from one eye: their repetition suggestive of routine; painted bodies suggestive of excitement that the freedom of expression isolation and working from home appears to initially present. Then there is the large clock sitting to one side of the region, representing the dragging passage of time and the resentment it can cause – the reminder of how long its been, and how long, potentially, we may still have to go before things “get back to normal”.

But there is more here as well: the personal element of love and loss of a friend beautifully offered through these suggestions of life and death, love and loss through the use of angelic figurines (some partially dismembered), the shrouded busts with their crowns of thorns, the floating bodies under their own shrouds, the great church, the huddled skeletons, the shiny Morgan sports car with its “Just Married” sign and the promise of a bright future,  sitting amidst the wreck of several junker cars suggestive of age and decrepitude – and loss.

The layering of images and ideas within this build is compelling in their sheer diversity. Take the line of masks noted above; within them might also be seen the cracking of our daily façades – the faces we present to the the rest of the world that are becoming increasingly redundant in this age of isolation; also to be found within them is the sense of tears offered by the falling water. Between two of them sits  the carcass of an ageing ship, an orchestra playing even as pumps fail to keep the water at bay. This is rich in multiple motifs: there’s the idea of trying to carry on as normal in the rising tide of change; the echo of the Titanic and the idea we’re facing the sinking of all that can be normal in an increasingly  confusing, isolating world; the hint that despite the current disorder, perhaps normality can return; and then there’s the personal element again: music played in remembrance of a loved one.

Poignant, beautifully presented, and watched over by the floating spores of a virus that hang in the sky – a reminder that as per that title of the build – we are all just passengers in the unfolding situation in the world today. Even the region’s core name – Solveig – seems to reflect the intertwined themes presented in the build – Sol and Veig being old Norse words meaning “house” or “hall” (the place where we most commonly have to isolate) and “strength” or “battle” (reflective of the strength we draw on from within in handling the battle we face in moving beyond the 3rd order of isolation).

SLurl Details

• Isolation’s Passengers ( Solveig, rated Moderate)

Hotel California – click any image for full size

Hotel California is a Full region designed by Lex Machine (Schmexysbuddy) that we were made aware of by Miro Collas. It presents “A war torn land fighting its way back to beauty” where, “Life always finds a way”; and it makes for a curious visit with its mix of influences.

The landing point sits in the middle of a broken bridge that attempts to span the region, rooted in a high table of rock to the north, and pointing south towards a lower hill on the southern end of the region. However, before it reaches that point, it dissolves into ruin, the paved road vanishing, leaving just the piers on which the road once stood – and these are leaning haphazardly, a mature tree sitting between them, suggesting the bridge has been in a state of ruin for decades.

Hotel California

The table mountain with its small, rounded dome of a peak to one side, is home to the titular Hotel California – although unlike the song, it is probably not a place you can check-out of but never leave. Its dishevelled condition indicative that it hasn’t been in service for many years, the tree within its courtyard grown to a considerable size, the café within its shade suggestive wine hasn’t been served there for a long time.

Below the mountain, the region is primarily flat, sitting just above the surrounding water, the southern hills being the only other relief. This landscape is lush, with verdant grass and yellow rapeseed. deer roam here, although there are some signs of the war that apparently tore through the land at some point: the fuselage of a transport ‘plane, the shells of buildings, and the wreckage of vehicles, including a tank and a rather unusual flying … car.

Hotel California

A large house, sitting atop a hill, stands apart from the ruins in that it is intact, as if spared from whatever happened. Lightly furnished, it is too large to be a farm-house, its kitchen is well-stocked, its conservatory a place of well-tended plants. Hidden behind the house sits a survivalists bunker; suggesting the house is still in use.

A very localised storm is in full career atop the remaining hill, marked by a shattered lighthouse. Here the rain falls in sheets and the lightening is violent. It looks out over the western lowlands, offering a view of both a ruined rotunda and a passing Predator drone, its weapons pylons empty.

Hotel California

It is to the west that the region has – for me – its most interesting features. Just off the coast sits the ruin of a large, industrial-like building. It roof is gone, its walls and floors broken, the bare rusted metal of the smashed cement walls visible. A CND “shrine” sits within this broken building, but it is the scenes outside of it which hold the attention.

From the misted waters on one side of the building rise the great tentacles of what might be a Kraken, as if reaching to tear more of the structure down. Closer to shore, a group of statues are grouped, as if frozen in the act of fleeing to dry land. Or are they the petrified remains of people who once fled the now partially flooded building?

Hotel California

An unusual design for a region, one that is not at all the kind of apocalyptic setting one might expect from the About Land description, but which is photogenic and somewhat prone to fancy, as per the Kraken and water scene. Those wishing to obtain rezzing rights can do so by joining the Shutter Thugs group at the landing point. Photos taken at the region can also be submitted to the Shutter Thugs Flickr group.

Altogether a somewhat different and engaging visit.

Hotel California

SLurl Details

• Hotel California (Hotel California, rated: Adult)