Tag: Art 2019

Now open through until Friday, April 19th at the G.B.T.H. Project is Transients, an 3D exhibition by Mr. and Mrs. S (respectively Saka Infinity and LauraLar Resident).

Given both of the artists are rightly noted for their exceptional photographic work (see here and here respectively), Transients is tempting in its promise of a 3D installation. And it is one with an intriguing concept, a series of individual elements drawing inspiration from memories and dreams, colours and sounds, objects and settings.

In all, nine individual settings are provided (excluding the start and end points).  Access is gained via the G.B.T.H landing point – take the green bicycle teleport up to the installation start point. Here, if you’ve not already done so, make sure your viewers settings are adjusted to meet the requirements of the installation: time of day set to midnight, Advanced Lighting Model enabled and local lights set to Sun/Moon+Projectors. Once you have, proceed to the individual elements of the installation by using the green bikes to teleport up to each in turn.

Each scene is presented in its own room, each room identical in design. Thus they are the foundation for dreams and memories established: as we move from one to the next, the environment remains the same, but the scenes they present change, each one unique, yet in a way, transient – passing thoughts and memories framed within the “familiar” – the structures representative, perhaps, of our grounding in self.

These are scenes that deserve time to contemplate – and in some, the opportunity is presented through the provision of chairs or seats. Like dreams, they need interpretation, like memories, their meaning perhaps needs to be considered and given context; and like both their interpretation and / or meaning can be ephemeral, shifting in context the more we observe them and moods and emotions shift and change as our observation of the whole focuses down to the individual – or vice versa.

But are they echoing our own memories, or are we recalling something else? Something from an enacted dream sequence within a film or a scene from a story once read? Thus, our sense of understanding again shifts, our thoughts become more convoluted. Soundscapes designed by Mr. S add a further layer of imagery to each scene, increasing their depth and – perhaps – stirs a further sense of familiarity and strangeness.

A fascinating installation, offering an engrossing combination of ideas and designs from two artists that marks their first public exhibition of this particular style.

SLurl Details

• G.B.T.H. Project (Starry Night, rated: Moderate)

Update March 28th: Artful Expressions is in the process of relocating. The current exhibition remains “for a few days” at the SLurl given in the body of this article, after which the gallery can be found at its new Mainland home.

Currently on display at Artful Expressions Gallery, curated by Sorcha Sanvean (Sorcha Tyles), is an exhibition of images by Adi Frith (Adiuvo), a photographer whose work I had not previously encountered.

Once again, this is a small exhibit offering just six images, all of which are avatar studies featuring – I assume – Adi herself as the model. All are all very individual pieces, ranging from a deeply voyeuristic view of a couple engaging in adult play (Found) through to what might be seen as a simple, casual capture (Just Away). Between these are moments of contemplation (Tied) and what might be a reflection of love (Rose), with what might be a further moment of adult intimacy (Strapped) and another suggestion of voyeuristic opportunity (Give Up), although this might also be characterised as a moment of thoughtful reflection.

All six images are finely cropped and post-processed to present captivating scenes, each with a story to tell – or a mystery to be explored (who does the languid, leash-holding hand belong to in Found? What thoughts are present within Give Up and Tied – and what preceded these moments? These are questions and stories only those who view the images can answer – and thus a visit very much is in order.

As well as the gallery space, Sorcha also provides a ground level garden and beach space, reached via the teleport within the gallery – although on my visit I found it dropped me a little too neatly into the foamy wash of tide. The beach area offers deck seating and a short garden walk up to a small café, making it an ideal place it catch your breath and perhaps sit and think about the art you’ve just seen up at the gallery.

SLurl Details

• Artful Expressions Gallery (Niaoupolis, rated: Adult)

Club LA and Gallery, curated by Fuyuko ‘冬子’ Amano (Wintergeist) presents a new exhibition of art by WuWai Chun, someone I’ve long followed in the SL Profile Feeds, but I’ve rarely seen exhibited in-world, so it was a delight to receive an early invite to see her work at the gallery from Fuyuko.

Second Life Blue is located on the gallery’s mezzanine level, and is an eye-catching selection of art. Perhaps the first point to note about it is that WuWai is donating 100% of all sales during the exhibition to Feed A Smile / Live and Learn Kenya. Full details on this charity – which we support at Holly Kai – can be found at the entrance to the exhibit itself, as can instructions on how to purchase images to donate. There’s also a FAS donation kiosk available, if you prefer to make a direct donation or give a little extra.

Twelve images form the exhibition, and as the title suggests, they present scenes from around Second Life that have been post-processed to give each of them a blue finished tone. This allows WuWai to present a series of dramatic captures of Second Life that are deeply evocative and  equally soothing to view. Landscapes share the space with avatar studies and images of in-world art, which makes the breadth of images presented equally rich and diverse as their emotional expression.

As per the notes displayed at the entrance of the exhibit space, this is an exhibition best seen with Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled in the viewer. This doesn’t change our perception of the images per se, but it does enable the local projected lights which add further depth to the night sky environment WuWai has created in which to frame her images. In addition, I suggest making sure local sounds are enabled, as WuWai has also presented a sound scape for the exhibition.

Another enticing exhibition from Club LA and Gallery, beautifully presented – and I further offer kudos to WuWai in her use of vendor boards as picture frames. This allows visitors to both purchase images and to touch them and use the Info button on the displayed menu to receive text information on the image: where it was taken, price, and permissions and a link to the original image on WuWai’s Flickr stream.  I may well be “borrowing” her approach for my own pictures!

The official opening for the exhibition is at 13:00 SLT on Saturday, March 16th, 2019.

SLurl Details

• Club LA and Gallery (Amano, rated: Moderate)

In March, a new ensemble exhibition opened at the Rainbow Painter’s Gallery, curated by Timo Dumpling and Patience Dumpling (patience Roxley), this one with a focus on monochrome images.

Once again, this is an exhibition that features a broad cross-section of artists and art, featuring works created both in-world and from the physical world. Nor is the exhibition restricted to art: Keyah Kyomoon and Mountain String include pieces formed by both images and words.

With such a cross-section of art and artists, the is much to see throughout the gallery, from Nil Urqhart’s starkly beautiful photographs of the Mount Blanc massif in Chamonix region of the French Alps, through in-world photography by Fiona Saiman, Tara Aers, Josie Anderton Ilyra Chardin, Lena Kiopak and others. These run between avatar studies and landscapes, and I confess to finding Josie Anderton’s Valentine to be quite captivating.

Vicktor Savior present three of his pencil drawings of celebrities – of which Keanu Reeves tended to hold my attention; but where drawings are concerned, it is the two pieces by Fabio Castelli I found most attractive. I was also pleased to see some of Paula Cloudpainter’s art on display – although I confess, I’m not sure monochrome fully captures the richness of her cloud images. Nor is all of the gallery given over to fully monochrome; there are touches of colour here and there, notably in the poems by Mountain String.

Such a large ensemble exhibition inevitably makes it hard to write about individual artists or pieces. As such, I can only give a hint of what is on display; but for a relatively young venue, I will say that Rainbow Painter’s is maturing into a very capable gallery that is rightly attracting the interest of artists new and old within SL. As such, I do recommend paying it a visit, and on keeping an eye on exhibitions there.

SLurl Details

• Rainbow Painters Art Gallery (Chadara, rated; Moderate)

I first encountered the art of Lyra Romanas in 2018, and was immediately struck by the richness of story contained within her images, so I was delighted to learn a further small selection of her work is on display through until April 2019 at the Galerie Alice, curated by Alice (angedem).

Renewal and Transformation presents nine images by Lyra in respect of the theme, with a broad split between avatar and art studies. No liner notes are provided for the exhibition or its theme but frankly, the images themselves are so expressive, few additional pointers are required.

The four avatar studies in particular perfectly embody the ideas of renewal and transformation of self. Each offers us a moment in time, seemingly personal,  with Mutation perhaps must clearly underlining the transformation theme. Within its monochrome lines it is clear something is happening – and that from the expression on the face of the subject, it is either not unpleasant, or she is oblivious of the change – although this seems unlikely; but what the trigger for her change, and why it is happening is the tease, the story we are invited to weave around the piece.

Equally, When It Rains, It Pours speaks of transformation – although this time it focus is on emotional transformation, rather than physical, while The Twilight Zone perhaps invites us to consider our own ability to transform ourselves both in and of the moment. It is left to the titular piece to offer an image suggestive of pure renewal, brought about through peaceful reflection whilst lying a warm waters. Yet, at the same time, the first three pieces also carry the theme of renewal as well: the birth of a new life-form, the opening of a new page of a life; the renewal of limber exercise, while the titular peace also carries with it a message of transformation, of rebirth from the water.

Supporting these four pieces are four focused on the 3D art of Mistero Hifeng. Again the themes of renewal and transformation are evident in all of them: the transformation of stone into caring figures, the emotions generated in their form itself renewing; the pure strength of renewal and simultaneous transformation from passive to active seen in Blown Away. Only the last piece, The Scales might at first seem at odds with the rest; until that is, one looks part the very different approach to colour and presentation and consider the balance between matters of renewal and transformation that can mark our own lives.

SLurl Details

• Galerie Alice (Les Champs Elysees, rated: Moderate)