Sorcha Goldshark (Sorcha Tyles) has re-opened her Artful Expressions Gallery once more, after almost a two-year break.
Since its inception in 2016, Artful Expressions has always been a mix of gallery space and hang-out; the kind of place you can go to specifically to set art, or use as a meeting place in which to spend time and take in the art that happens to be on display. With this latest iteration of the gallery, I’m pleased to say that this remains the case; as does Sorcha’s eye for photography – both her own and that of other SL photographer-artists.
Artful Expressions Gallery: Geoff Quinnell – Under the Same Sky
The re-opening of the gallery brings with it an exhibition of images by my fellow “Brit”, Geoff Quinnell. A big band leader, designers and SL landscape photographer, Geoff here presents nine images captured from around Second Life and which he has brought together under the title Under the Same Sky.
Taken at popular destinations around Second Life – doubtless seasoned SL travellers will recognise many of the locations presented – these are images that carry a bright and rich with a sense of summer, with bright skies and a natural sense of summertime vibrancy to the colours. All have been post-processed such that they have the look and feel of a painting or pen-and-ink art.
Artful Expressions Gallery: Geoff Quinnell – Under the Same Sky
All are richly evocative images, perfectly encapsulating their subject locations so as to entice people to pay them a visit. For those who perhaps haven’t witnessed these destinations first-hand, Geoff provides a list of SLurls in a note card that can be obtained from the advertising / info board just inside the gallery. However, do remember that places come and go / get remade in Second Life, so there is no guarantee the listed places will remain available indefinitely.
Expressive and offered within a welcoming waterfront environment, Under the Same Sky – a title that reflects the fact these are all images that have been captured within the same digital realm, rather that being imaged under the same lighting / environment – is a near-perfect exhibition of Geoff’s work and an excellent re-introduction to Artful Expressions.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Dido Haas – Fade to Grey
It was back to Dido Haas’s Nitroglobus Roof Gallery for me for the second of the May / June exhibitions on offer there. Fade to Grey, offered within Dido’s space at the gallery is an exhibition of Dido’s own images, all of which have been rendered as monochrome pieces, with some additionally post-processed to give the impression of drawings.
Dido is perhaps best known for her curation of Nitroglobus Roof gallery where – as I’ve oft stated in these pages – she is able to encourage artists from across Second Life to present exceptional exhibitions of their art. She is also, again as I’ve noted, a gifted photographer-artist herself. What may be less well known is that she is a blogger and Second Life traveller.
Since July 2009 I put a lot of my SL time in writing for my blog ‘Exploring SL with Dido‘, however the emphasize shifted more and more from text to images. In line with this I started to place my best blog images and more private photos in my Flickr account … Being so busy with curating the gallery, I have little time left to make images myself … But sometimes when I am in the right mood I do make images, most of them black/white.
– Dido Haas
N
The eight images reflect Dido’s talent for black-and-white images and her love of exploration. They have been captured in various regions around Second Life, including Furillen, Quoted Memories and AEAEA islands. However, seven of the images are all very much studies in narrative, the focus being both Dido herself, and the embodiment of mood and emotion, while the eighth is presented as a self-portrait, finished as a drawing, an arm stretched forward as if in greeting / encouragement. All of them together offer an invitation for us to step into Dido’s Second Life and share in both her artistic view of our digital world and in her personal time in-world.
Small in size, intimate in content, Fade to Grey is a warm exhibition that can be enjoyed for itself – and for those who might like to, Dido suggests viewing the exhibition whilst listening to the most successful single released by British synth-pop group Visage, and which has the same name as the exhibition (and, as it was originally written as an instrumental piece, there’s also this version, if you prefer).
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Dido Haas – Fade to Grey
Sunday, May 1st, 2022 saw the opening of a new iteration of Bryn Oh’s Lobby Cam, a brand new iteration of an installation first unveiled in 2015 (see: Bryn Oh’s Lobby Cam).
As with the majority of Bryn’s work, Lobby Cam is set within a narrative universe she has created, and so sits with her two other installation currently available for public viewing: an updated version of Hand (which I reviewed in 2020), and the more recent The Brittle Epoch (reviewed here). Made possible by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Lobby Cam is an entirely new build – new mesh models, soundscape, scripting – and a new narrative for visitors to follow.
My artwork in Second Life is one long narrative which began in 2009. Each new work I create is a chapter in this story, and in the case of Lobby Cam it is 110 years before the events of the Brittle Epoch and Hand which are being exhibited within the Immersiva and Bryn Oh regions.
– Bryn Oh
Bryn Oh: Lobby Cam, May 2022
As is common with Bryn’s work in Second Life, a visit to the installation commences at a set landing point. Here, for those who have visited Bryn’s work previously, a HUD can be obtained with a simple click, and will attach towards the top right of the viewer window. Those new to Bryn’s work or who have opted to previously tell the viewer to “Forget” they are a part of it, will need to join Bryn’s local Experience in order to access and use the HUD as intended.
Click the top right icon when the HUD – which is a diary – is “open” and it will minimise to free up screen space. Click the icon to expand it again.
An eccentric man discovers an impossible channel on his TV. This begins a story where you determine the ending.
– Bryn Oh on Lobby Cam
Bryn Oh: Lobby Cam, May 2022
Pass beyond the walls of the landing point, and those who remember the original Lobby Cam will doubtless recognise the sea of wheat within its fenced fields and the distant, hulking form of grain elevator 888. Originally built in Keatley, Saskatchewan in the late 1920s, the elevator formed a part of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, although it has since been relocated and serves now as a museum. However, just as the real elevator served as a local focal point in its day, so too does Bryn’s version of it in Second Life, beckoning people to hurry towards it.
However, giving it to such a temptation will result in visitors missing some key elements in Lobby Cam. As Bryn notes, this is an unfolding story, key elements of which are formed by missing pages from the diary HUD. These are scattered on the ground in various places (such as the path leading away from the landing point and the road pointing towards the grain elevator. Clicking on one when found will “add” it to the diary (the HUD icon will turn to colour). Opening the diary (if closed) and paging through the pages by clicking on them will reveal the entries as they are “added”.
Bryn Oh: Lobby Cam, May 2022
As well as the grain elevator, there are other new elements within the installation – such as the low barn sitting in the middle of one of the wheat fields. These should all be visited, wherever they lay (so sit well out in the landscape) and touched – as Bryn notes, people should pretty much click on everything, inside the grain elevator and outside of it – as some will be interactive and offer up secrets (such as links to Bryn’s videos) or objects.
Key among the latter are an envelope, pen, ink, and paper. Collect them alongside the pages of the diary, and you can further involve yourself in Bryn’s universe by interacting with another of her characters, Fern, as she explains:
[With them you can] write a letter from the main character [of Lobby Cam] to Fern. If you click the red mailbox on the train platform you can send this message to me directly by e-mail. I will respond to all letters sent and this will end the story. Depending on what you write. I will write as Fern would reply to your message.
– Bryn Oh on Lobby Cam
Note that Bryn’s replies really are individually written in response to your own words, not pre-prepared responses. Also, please keep in mind the last time she did this, she received several hundred e-mails, so it understandably took her a little time to respond to all of them!
Finished to resemble a painting – the use of the elevator, if I recall correctly from 2015, having been inspired by a painting Bryn either saw or created (my apologies to her for forgetting which, or possibly mis-remembering), Lobby Cam is deceptive in all it has to offer, and as such, is definitely more than work seeing. For those who need additional context, both Hand and The Brittle Epoch are also open to viewing, SLurls below.
With thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for their continued support of Bryn’s work.
Love can be scary only because you realize you care about someone as much as you care about yourself. You open your hearth knowing that it could be broken, however being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure, joy and excitement, and make you feel that true bond and energy that is pulling you to belong to the other.
– from the introduction to Gravity at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, May 2022
Over the years – as I recently noted in writing about the gallery’s 10th anniversary – Nitroglobus / Nitroglobus Roof Gallery has been the home to some of the most remarkable exhibitions of art I’ve witnessed in Second Life down the years; so much so that singling one out over the others is practically impossible. However, I have to say there is something very special to be found within Gravity, an exhibition of work by Lika Cameo that will be open throughout May 2022 at the gallery.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Lika Cameo, Gravity
An exploration of the nature of love, Gravity presents a series of images created by Lika that reflect, either individually or in groups of three, poems on the subject. The majority of the latter are by Celestial Demon, and are not what you might call “traditional” sonnets such as Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43. Rather, there are more deeply focused on specific emotions both light and dark that accompany out love for another.
The imagery created by Demon’s words is powerful; within the poems we can find obsession, freedom, contentment, happiness, need, desire, comfort … Along with them are three further poems on love. Two are by Pablo Neruda and the third is by Lika herself, and offer the aforementioned more traditional approach to expressing thoughts and reflections on the subject.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Lika Cameo, Gravity
Taken on their own, the poems offer considerable insight into the nature of love its push/pull / yin/yang nature it embodies.
Alongside of them, Lika’s art is literally poetry in images. As a mixed media artist, Lika has an extraordinary ability to offer expression and narrative through her pieces. Preferring to work in black-and-white / monochrome (there is one colour trio included in Gravity), she fully demonstrate this ability within this exhibition. There is a stunning richness of life and motion within every single piece on display, a richness that does more than reflect the emotions of the poems, it becomes a visual synonym for the emotions expressed within the poems.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Lika Cameo, Gravity
What is particularly stunning with Gravity is the mutualistic symbiosis between art and poetry. All of the pieces, whether singletons or trios, stand independent of the poems to which they have been paired, making this an exhibition that can be enjoyed purely as a visual immersion. Similarly, if one chooses to do so, the poems can be read and appreciated without reference to the images alongside time. When taken taken together, however, they mutually benefit one another and Gravity takes on a depth of life and meaning that captivates.
With this in mind, and while I could prattle on at length here about Gravity, I’m going to spare you and instead genuinely urge you to see the exhibition for yourself.
Occupying two rooms at Frank Atisso’s Art Korner gallery is an exhibition of avatar studies by Mila Maesar that opened on April 28th, 2022. Perfectly Imperfect marks the first time I’ve had the opportunity to study Mila’s work in detail, and while there doesn’t appear to be any liner notes to accompany the exhibition, this doesn’t diminish it at all; it actually enhances it, allowing the interpretation of the individual pieces and the exhibition as a wholly subjective exercise, driven by one’s own mood at the time of a visit.
The majority of the pieces are head-and-shoulder portraits, although there are some broader images to be found within the collection. At first glance, the images appear to be split between the two rooms simply through the used of colour or tone: monochrome pieces appearing within one room and colour in the other. However, things are not entirely that clear-cut; whilst the darker room does have predominantly black / white or monochrome pieces, there are also hints of colour to be found; whilst in the lighter room, colour predominates, but monochrome pieces are also to be found.
Art Korner Gallery: Mila Maesar
All of the pieces carry a richness of narrative, stories in part suggested through their titles. Several are evocative of iconic images: Waves, for example, carries with it a suggestion of Neve Campbell and Denise Richards as seen in promotional posters and images for the film Wild Things; alongside of it, Honey Pie offers echoes of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust.
Art Korner Gallery: Mila Maesar
Whether such touches are intentional or merely my own subjective response to these two particular images, I’ve no idea; but I found similar touches in some of the other images, and through them, a part of my own connection to them.
But if there is a theme within this exhibition, what might it be? I found myself driving to the idea of duality and self. Again, this is in part suggested by the title of the piece, and – obviously – by the images themselves and also the setting.
Most of us who come to Second Life do so in order to find a means of self-expression, a part of which is embodied through our avatars. For the majority of us, this gives rise to avatars that tend towards a view of perfection: an idealised view of who we are / would like to be. But while they might be perfect, we, as their operators remain imperfect, perhaps even conflicted.
Our moods and outlook change – hence perhaps the use of light and dark rooms to display these shifts – whilst our avatars remain constant throughout; perfect in looks, perfect in relationships, perfect in appeal. Even in situations where we’d end up a complete mess – or at least less-than attractive – such has being smothered in honey or splashed in paint, our avatars remain an image of perfection.
This dichotomy between this digital perfection and the imperfections of “real life” is perhaps most clearly represented within Open Up *(seen to the right of this article). It is an utterly startling and fabulously presented piece, with a depth of expression and potential for narrative that completely captivates.
But however you opt to interpret Perfectly Imperfect for yourself, make no mistake; these are visually striking and richly engaging pieces.
The Raglan Shire Artwalk is one of the staples of the SL art calendar, and for 2022 the 17th Artwalk will take place between Sunday, May 15th and Sunday, June 19th, inclusive.
A popular event among artists and residents, the Artwalk can see over 150 artists displaying their work – 2D and 3D – across the regions of Raglan Shire. All the displays are open-air, with 2D art is displayed on hedgerows in and around the regions, while sculptures and 3D art is displayed in a number of designated areas, all of which allows visitors to both appreciate the art and explore the Shire regions.
A Call For Artists for the 2022 event has been issued for those wishing to participate, and key points about the exhibition are as follows:
It is a non-juried show.
Artists can display more than one piece if they wish.
2D (“flat” art pieces will be awarded a maximum of 15 LI, and individual pictures should be 1 prim, including the frame.
3D art (sculptures, etc.), will be awarded a maximum of 500 LI for up to three pieces of work. Artists are requested to state the LI per piece in their application.
Sales of art are allowed.
Types of art supported by the show are: representations of RL photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and digital fine art that can be displayed on a prim; and SL photography, manipulated SL photography and SL sculpture.
Pictures of RL crafts, such as beadwork, leatherwork, etc., are not part of the show’s definition
All the above art forms are welcome, but should be rated PG / G – so no nudity, please!
Group membership will be required in order to display work.
Tip jars and floating text are not allowed.
Questions and enquiries should be forwarded via note card to Artwalk Director Karmagirl Avro, or Artwalk Assistants Kayak Kuu, Linn Darkwatch, or RaglanShireArtwalk Resident.
Tuesday, May 10th: applications close at 21:00 SLT.
Tuesday, May 10th: Notification of exhibit space location issued to artists – note that hedgerow space for 2D artists is on a “first come, first serve” basis.
Friday, May 13th (after 09:00 SLT) and Saturday May 14th: Artist set-up days.
Sunday, May 15th: Artwalk Opens.
Sunday, June 19th: Artwalk closes.
Sunday, June 19th (after 21:00 SLT) through Tuesday, June 21st: takedown of works.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 