NovaOwl Gallery: Lisa Dartmouth – See Through My Eyes, December 2023
Currently open (for a while longer at least, having formally opened in mid-November!) at the ground level gallery NovaOwl, operated and curated by ULi Jansma, Ceakay Ballyhoo & Owl Dragonash, is a small exhibition of Second Life photographic art by Lisa Dartmouth entitled See Through My Eyes.
The collection presents a baker’s dozen of images Lisa has put together, representing twelve of the places she has visited during her journeys through Second Life. For those – like myself – who are fellow travellers / explorers, these are places instantly recognisable by name, being some of the most enduring and photogenic spots in-world, popular for both their appearance and the fact that those responsible for them remain every willing to re-invent them and provide new visions and imaginings to be explored and appreciated, or for bring the beauty of the physical world to SL.
NovaOwl Gallery: Lisa Dartmouth – See Through My Eyes, December 2023
Thus, among this selection we can find Panjin with it brilliant “ref beach” growths of Suaeda salsa (see here for more), Whimberley, Grauland, Bella’s Lullaby, 80 Days (in its Wild West iteration, Wind River) and Elvion (featured twice in the exhibition), all of which have appeared in these pages multiple times over the years, thus imbuing for me, a real sense of attachment / recognition with Lisa’s work.
The displayed images are beautifully framed and cropped, with a lightness of post-processing to allow the natural beauty of the regions they represent to show through. Each one is also gently personalised by Lisa through the appearance of her avatar making her way through each location, generally (but not exclusively) on horseback. Further depth of touch is given to several of the images through the inclusion of 3D elements which help extend their presence into the gallery: a grass-tufted dune with feeding Avocets flowing outwards from the sandy expanse of Arum; a growth of yellow nanohana watched over by a scarecrow drawing the eye to the fields of rapeseed at Whimberley; a tall lighthouse sitting between coastal shots of Bella’s Lullaby and Fall @ Florence, and so on.
NovaOwl Gallery: Lisa Dartmouth – See Through My Eyes, December 2023
All of which makes See Through My Eyes both a personal personal retrospective by the artists and a veritable catalogue of reasons why exploring Second life can be so rewarding for the virtual traveller.
Opening on Saturday, November 25th at Artsville is We Orange The World, a 16-day arts event intended to coincide with the The United Nations Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, and which runs from November 25th, 2023 through to December 10th inclusive.
The physical world campaign started in 1991 at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute, which continues to coordinate each year’s campaign. It is used as a nexus strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. Initially a civil society initiative, the campaign has – since 2008 – been supported by the UNiTE campaign, which runs parallel events with the aim of ending violence against women by 2030.
We Orange The World, November 2023
Within We Orange the World, now in its third year, artists have been invited to submit 2D and / or 3D art to be displayed within the exhibition, related to the general theme of the beauty and empowerment of women around the world. Entrants were asked to keep pieces positive, uplifting and empowering rather than negative in nature, otherwise subject matter and presentation were left up to the artists.
Participating artists for 2023 include: Raven Arcana, Ceakay Ballyhoo, Bamboo Barnes, Bijoux, Abi Brewer, Carelyna, Mirabelle Biedermann, Melissandre Blade, Ilyra Chardi, Xia Chieng, Mareea Farrasco, Dido Haas, Margo Hollak, Jeanie, Jessamine2108, Lizzy, Diney Mccallen, Maghda, Marvayu, Selen Minotaur, Raisa Reimse, Rhiana Rhiano, Sina, Souza, AmandaT Tamatzui, and Dakota Wind, with Artemis Greece providing 3D sculptures.
The event includes entertainment throughout the 16 days, with the schedule at the time of writing as follows (all times SLT):
Saturday, November 25
12:00 Noon: DJ Pru
13:00: Susie Star Twilighton
14:00: Tay Tayana
Monday, December 4
14:00: Maximillion Kleene
15:00: Amberle Janniah
Monday, November 27
13:00: Wytchwhisper Sadofsky
14:00: Katia Portugal
Tuesday, December 5
13:00: Open microphone poetry with Sabre and Jolie Carter
Tuesday, November 28
13:00: Open microphone poetry with Sabre and Jolie Carter
Kondor Art Garden, November 2023: Lalie Sorbet – Carousels
Currently mid-way through its November / December 2023 run at the Kondor Art Garden, a part of the Kondor Art Centre operated and curated by Hermes Kondor, is Carousels, a collection of animated art pieces by photographer-artist Lalie Sorbet.
The exhibition comprises some 20 animated mobiles, each one richly organic in form, and all of them floating serenely along the gravel paths circling the gardens. Each piece is formed from two elements, each bearing an image which has been set to rotate gently, one element moving clockwise and the other counter-clockwise.
Some have their parts rotating more-or-less at the same speed, others have their parts rotating at different speeds to one another; thus the sense of life and vitality is deftly imbued. But no liner notes from the artist are provided, so how we might interpret them is a matter between the eyes and the imagination of the beholder. Might they be exotic plants caught on a cushion of air? Otherworldly life-forms drifting through the gardens on an examination of their own? Objects from the sea-s depths brought forth upon the land? Something else? That is entirely for you to decide as you visit.
Kondor Art Garden, November 2023: Lalie Sorbet – Carousels
What is evident within all of the pieces is the manner in which each of them appears both tactile and delicate. On the one hand, they seem to dare us to reach out and feel the touch of what might be a veined leaf or a ripple of hair-like fibres or a gossamer-thin sphere of silk as it slides across finger tips. On the other, there is a countering sense as to what just the lightest of caresses might do to these exquisite forms of light and colour were we to try and touch them; would they respond open and positively responsive to our fingertips, or might they recoil, contract and deny us further revelations as to their form and nature?
I also found myself wondering as to their creation; were they the result of a digital freestyle approach by the artist, or might they be a continuation of her explorations in using AI software to create their component forms prior to being brought together by eye and script to gain life? This is perhaps not important in the overall scheme of things – Carousel stands “as is” as an engaging and visual collection of pieces – but having recently witnessed Lalie’s work with AI tools (see: Art, AI and Totems in Second Life), I cannot help but wonder if if Carousels is a further aspect of her use of AI as a means to extend her natural artistry.
Kondor Art Garden, November 2023: Lalie Sorbet – Carousels
Vital, rich in colour, subtle in form – and perhaps carrying a hint of the hypnotic through the motion mere still images cannot convey – Carousels is a relaxing and engaging exhibition of animated art, with pieces available for purchase by those who would like to have a piece at home – floating in the garden, perhaps, as a peregrine visitor to their own garden.
Melusina Parkin: Secret Shores, Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, November 2023
This will be the second of two recent art reviews in these pages presenting a joint coverage of art exhibitions running through November / December 2023, although unlike my last (see: Artistic reflections on the human form and intimacy in Second Life), they are not connected by some subjective and potentially nebulous cooked up in side my little noggin; this time they are very much jointed at the hip, because by the same artist and encapsulating the same core theme. Coincidentally, one of these exhibitions is also taking place at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas, which was also the location for one of the two exhibitions reported on in the above-linked review.
The artist in question is Melusina Parkin, and the exhibitions are Silent Shores and Silent Landscapes, with the former presented within the main hall at Nitroglobus, and the latter within Melu’s own gallery space. In terms of total number of images, the larger of the two is Silent Landscapes, offering a total of 48 images, whilst Silent Shores presents 16 pieces in what might be called a subset of some of those found at Meulsina’s Place, but offered in a much large format, allowing us to be drawn more deeply into them.
Melusina Parkin: Silent Landscapes, Melusina’s Place, November 2023
Given they are connected, I’m going to cover both exhibitions as if they were a single whole; however, were I pushed pushed to give a suggestion as to the order in which they should be viewed, I would recommend visiting Silent Landscapes first. It is here that the complete collection can be seen together with Melu’s own thoughts on how the collection came into being. Silent Shores, with its use of large format images, then allows for that deeper sense of engagement mentioned above.
I’ve oft commented on Melu’s work in these pages, particularly noting her use of tight focus and angles within her photographs to concentrate the eye and mind on a specific item or element within an image, thereby limiting our frame of reference whilst simultaneously opening the image up in a manner which springboards the imagination into framing its own narrative around the piece, rather than restricting us to interpreting the story the artist wished to convey. It’s a technique I much admire, inviting as it generally does the mind to take free flight.
Melusina Parkin: Secret Shores, Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, November 2023
Here, Melu does much the same in terms of allow her audience to view each piece and formulate a narrative around it, if they so wish. However, in terms of style, she uses a reverse approach, pulling the camera back, as it were, from her more usual tight focus and closed angles to offer us – quite literally- broad horizons into which landscapes and costal settings flow and fade. Thus, we are presented with images with the suggestion of the infinite – and yet which are intimate and personal thanks to her use of soft tones, horizon haze and a deep sense of depth present within piece.
This sense of intimacy-without-open-spaces wraps within it a subtle yet deep sense of solitude enhanced by the fact that nary an image offers so much as a bird is the sky or creature on the ground. Even the man-made objects apparent in some of the pieces come across as natural elements within each setting, rather than something interjected into it.
Melusina Parkin: Silent Landscapes, Melusina’s Place, November 2023
The result of this is that each piece draws us into it in a very personal way; these are not images of places unknown, this are places reflective of mood and feeling; they exude a silence we all, at times, desire or have felt; times when Nature allows us to be true to ourselves in thought, and where we can accept the feelings we might otherwise repress – or at least lose in the daily hubbub of life. In this, silence can be a deep and calming friend.
Given this, these are also images that carry something personal to Melusina, as she notes in her introduction to Silent Landscapes whilst also noting the power of silence itself:
Silence isn’t only a matter of hearing; it can be depicted by an image. Lonely landscapes, fuzzy or faint images suggest [a] lack of noises or voices. Silence is absence; absence is peaceful, but can also be sad. I shot and collected dozens of images of solitary landscapes that show silences; their slight sadness and their relaxing mood match the inspiration of many of the thousands [of] photos I took in many years of SL Photography. So, I consider these pictures as a summary of the deepest feelings I wanted to express in my work.
– Melusina Parkin, Silent Landscapes
Melusina Parkin: Secret Shores, Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, November 2023Which, at the end of the day, is really what needed to be said. Evocative, personal – to those viewing them and to the artist, albeit in a myriad of different ways as they speak to each of us – Silent Landscapes and Silent Shores form an engaging and slime collection of SL photographic art which can speak to all who witness them.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, November 2023: Dido Haas – Restricted
For this article, I’m taking a look at two exhibitions which opened at Second Life in November 2023. They are both entirely independent to one another (and indeed, very different in form and style), but share some common themes which – to me at least – make them somewhat suited to joint coverage. Perhaps the most obvious connection between the two is that as they feature nudity, they should be considered NSFW; some of the other links are drawn entirely from my own perceptions and probably do not coincide to any great degree with those of the artists. Ego, take what you read here with a measure of circumspection – and do visit the exhibitions to gather your own thought on them.
The first exhibition is entitles – sort-of appropriately – Restricted, likely in recognition of the nudity it presents. It can be found in The Annex at Dido Haas’ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, and comprises a selection of some of Dido’s monochrome / black-and-white work. These take the form of simple but elegant studies of Dido’s avatar, generally nude, in minimalist settings / scenes.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, November 2023: Dido Haas – Restricted
Of the collection, Dido states there is “no story, just more of me”; but while no story per se might be had within Restricted as a whole, the individual pieces very much do offer glimpses of vignettes we might freely interpret, if so minded, whilst collectively and within their composition, framing and presentation, they most certain do offer a narrative of artistic measure in their celebration of the female form.
The use of framing is perhaps most delightfully apparent in What’s Up? and In The Corner, both of which utilise the physical framing of the picture in which to tell their individual stories. In terms of technical composition, the use of light and shadow, the more mechanical aspects of photography – such as the Rule of Thirds – can be found combined through the eye of a genuine arts to produce a piece simply dripping with stories waiting to be told (Curtain). Alongside of it, the My Shadow images offer their own lessons in composition and narrative framing, whilst Shy is so exquisitely expressive, it captivates from the moment first seen.
Monocle Man, November 2023: Troy King – Hotel
Meanwhile at Monocle Man Galleries, curated by Lynx Luga (lynx Iuga) and Kit Boyd (and available through until November 19th inclusive) is Hotel. A noted photographer of the human form male and female, Troy’s art covers portraiture, nude studies and erotica, and he is rightly admired for his life-like studies, which have been featured across multiple Flickr groups as banner images, the subject of exhibitions and the focus of multiple SL publications.
As indicated by its sub-title, Hotel is from the wellspring of erotic images Tory has produced – and is thus potentially the more NSFW of the two exhibitions herein. It features a series of intimate / sexual black and white chiaroscuro images, best described by the exhibition’s introduction:
This collection is, in a sense, a return to Troy’s roots in erotica. Using a single room, he images various guests, single or otherwise, and the behaviours in which they indulge once the doors are locked and the lights are out.
Offering a third-person view of these “behaviours”, each piece casts the observer into the role which combines a sense of presence within the activities taking place – perhaps as a participant taking a moment to watch, or as voyeur observing events with (or without?) the knowledge of those actively participating, or perhaps as the person behind the lens, capturing these moments of deep intimacy.
Monocle Man, November 2023: Troy King – Hotel
Which of these roles you opt to take – if any – is a matter of personal choice. What is not in question, however, is the depth of personal and shared intimacy evident throughout; together with the richness of presentation and style. In the latter regard, the use of chiaroscuro is genuinely exquisite, and does much to enhance what are already intense and personal studies, lifting them to the heights of erotica art. Each piece has its own narrative, shared and personal, and each is perfectly framed and processed.
So, what is the connection I see between these two exhibitions? Simply this: both are rich in their celebrations of individual freedoms of expression, be they in terms of how we see ourselves or in how we express intimacy, love and desire between one another regardless of gender, colour, etc., either individually or jointly. This is reason enough to appreciate both Hotel and Restricted; but add to that the fact that there are those zealously determined to deny such freedoms in order to force conformity to their own narrow strictures of society, and both exhibition might also be seen as offering a very subtle reminder of what be lost to many if we allow such zealotry to succeed.
Starborn Gallery, November 2023: Gabriel Chamerberlin – The Traveller
How we might describe Second Life to someone unfamiliar with the platform is can often be something of a conundrum. Leaving aside the hoary old “is it or isn’t it a game” element of such discussions†, Second Life can be hard to quantify because it is so utterly diverse in terms of content, opportunity and attitude (on the part of those of us using it). The third of these points will always be a primary influence on how we each opt to define the platform, simply because it is so personal; however, the first two – content and opportunity – do offer a richness of scope in helping to describe Second Life.
This richness is at the heart of Gabriel Chamerberlin’s exhibition the Traveller, which opened on November 5th, 2023, at the Starborn Gallery operated and curate by Lizbeth Morningstar. This cosy selection of pieces spread cross the two levels of the gallery’s guest exhibition space is a visual narrative of one man’s journey through Second Life, exposing many of the elements which can make it so engaging a place in which to spend time.
Featuring the titular individual, as played by Gabriel himself, the dozen pieces within the collection illustrate – generally in a very subtle manner – the rich diversity of Second Life, complete with touches here and there of metaphor, whilst also presenting a short visual story of the experiences and encounters of the part of The Traveller as he goes about – well, his travels!
Starborn Gallery, November 2023: Gabriel Chamerberlin – The Traveller
The metaphor is visible from the start – The Traveller and the Tunnel – the tunnel with its dark interior representing the “great unknown” of Second Life one might face when launching the viewer for the first time. Alongside of it, The Traveller and The Train uses the comedic metaphor of hanging on for dear life to a speeding train to represent the whirlwind of sensations and experiences which can be felt and had on entering Second Life and being overcome with the desire to See It All. Now!
Continuing on around the pieces in order and to the upper level of the gallery, we are offered views familiar to travellers in the physical world which offer subtle hints and the niggles we can have with SL as a platform, such as at times having to sit and wait for things to happen / update, or having to deal minor irritants (The Traveller and Airport Security and The Layover), through to the more obvious facets of SL’s uniqueness – encounters with haunted houses and aliens, the opportunity to be involved in the performing arts, the marvels of creativity.
Starborn Gallery, November 2023: Gabriel Chamerberlin – The Traveller
Following the images around the walls and back towards the stairs connecting the two floors, we come to The Edge, which although the gallery’s layout means it is initially encountered mid-way through a walk through the exhibition, I take to be the conclusion of the story. I say this because it features our Traveller standing on the edge of the precipice, the path he’s been following literally breaking up at the edge.
This is again an perfect metaphor, reflecting the idea that the Traveller’s journey is far from over, and that while possibly unknown (as symbolised by the cliff edge), more awaits, together with the idea that through these images, Gabriel has only hinted that all that Second Life might be and there is more to be discovered and appreciated when we take a leap of faith into the platform.
When visiting, do also take the time to visit the other half of the gallery, in which Lizbeth presents her own Second Life photographic art. this section has been expanded since my last visit to incorporate an selection of night / early morning images Lizbeth has produced under the title Before Dawn and which offers a further engaging set of reflections on time in Second Life.
Starborn Gallery, November 2023: Lizbeth Morningstar – Before Dawn
† Just in case you’re curious – no, I don’t believe Second Life is “a game”, but I do agree it can be used as a platform on which games can be created. however, this should not be taken to mean that people cannot opt to treat it the entire platform as a game through their desire to utilise it in a particular manner – such as adopting a persona other than their own for whatever reason (such as role-play) and then only interact within the platform and with others through the lens of that persona, rather than as themselves.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 