Tag: Art 2024

I dropped into SLEA 6 recently to visit a quite stunning installation / environment, mixing art, film and literature and events, all brought together by Asah (AsahelVerne Absinthe).

Entitled Tractionist World, it offers a visualisation / recreation of a pivotal scene from both the first volume of Philip Reeves’ quartet of novels, collectively known as the Mortal Engines Quartet (the first volume being Mortal Engines) and – more particularly  – the 2018 film Mortal Engines, produced by The Lord of the Rings trio of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and based on their screenplay adaptation of the first book in the series.

Whilst the film received a mixed audience and critical response, there is no doubting the strength of its visual effects – notably in the presentation of the mighty city of London, the undisputed king of the “traction cities” rumbling around the Great Hunting Plains of Europe and Central Europe, as it chases down lesser cities in a cycle of “municipal Darwinism”.

And it is London, complete with its pair of massive bronze lions resembling the (much smaller) Landseer Lions of Trafalgar Square, topped by the gleaming beauty of St. Paul’s Cathedral and fronted by its massive union flag doors, which forms one of the focal points of Tractionist World.

The scale of London is impressive, despite the limitations of scale and size imposed on it by a Second Life region; throughout Asah has fully captures the multi-level nature of London, crowned by the cathedral and its hidden menace, neatly surrounded by gardens and footpaths, with streets and buildings stacked one above the other from the bulk of the great engine room at its base, where captured lesser cities are ingested for materials and power.

Outside of area such as the control centre, the engine room, and the Cathedral, the buildings within the city are mostly empty – but with good reason: not only is London a representation of the the machine city from the world of Mortal Engines, it also provides gallery spaces for art exhibitions.

At the time of my visit, the city was hosting two such exhibitions – although Asah informed me more are in the planning stage and will be appearing soon. The one of these exhibitions is hosted – appropriately enough – in the city’s Museum, a place where artefacts of the “old tech” are revered and studied. Entitled Steampunk Goddesses, it features AI art by TaccaExotic and Princess Soobania (Soobania).

Above this, and in the room behind the city’s control room, is an further exhibition of AI generated art, this one by Lalie Sorbet. Entitled Anima, it presents – in Lalie’s own words – an exploration of “the expression of the passionate relationship between humans and animals through time.”

Also located within the city’s engine room is a stage for hosting music events (with a further such space up in one of the airships overhead). In terms of getting around London, there are a number of stairways and walks linking various levels, but by far the easiest route down (and up!) is the elevator at the back of the control centre.

The city is part of a larger scene making up region, one depicting the climatic show-down between it and the Shield Wall of Batmunkh Gompa, as it protects the anti-tractionists of Shan Guo – a place Thaddeus Valentine is determined to over-run – with the great airship station of Airhaven floating above. It is within Batmunkh Gompa that the main landing point for the setting resides, complete with teleporters to carry visitors around (simply walk onto a teleport disk to activate it and right-click the beams).

There are a number of points of interest within the Shield Wall to explore – and the opportunity to find a little air car rezzer available to scoot around in. Beyond the wall, meanwhile, is the beauty and peace of Shan Gao, together with floating islands of rock, such as the Lighthouse. The best way to visit the latter, Shan Gao, and Airhaven is, as noted, the teleports at the landing point.

As both a place to visit, and an art / events venue, Tractionist World is an absorbing and engaging visit.

SLurl Details

SLEA is rated Moderate

• Tractionist World Landing Point
• London City Museum
• London City Control Room

The third exhibition at the Kondor Art Museum, a part of Hermes Kondor’s Kondor Art Centre, features a total of six artists exhibiting theough the gallery’s halls. They comprise: Mareea Farrasco, Sina Souza, Ilyra Chardin, Zia Branner and Thus Yootz, with Hermes himself rounding out the six. Some of these artists art among my personal favourites for their depth of expression and presentation, so this has been an exhibition I’ve been wanting to drop into since it opened on October 17th, 2024.

As with the first exhibition at the the Museum in April 2024, Ilyra Chandin’s 3D pieces occupying the foyer of the gallery building, as well as at the entrance and on the roof.

To the left of the entrance, the first hall in the museum houses a selection of pieces by Thus Yootz, someone who is, in my opinion, one of the most expressive and at times artistically experimental artists in Second Life. Here she presents 10 pieces that very much demonstrate these facts, with landscape pieces in monochrome and colour mixing with gorgeous and expressive line and wireframe styles.

Following Thus, and occupying the rear hall of the museum’s lower level, together with the hall to which it leads, is a two-stage exhibition by Sina Souza, another highly expressive artist I admire. The first part of this selection is a series focused on the colour red, some of which carry something of a social commentary. Beyond this is the right-side hall, containing seven colour / monochrome pieces, all equally evocative.

Upstairs, the two halls feature a selection of Mareea Farrasco’s always-engaging Second Life landscapes and avatar studies, and across the landing, Zia Branner’s abstract paintings. Again, both of these artists have a unique approach to their work, and I never fail to be drawn into their images and art.

Rounding-out the exhibition, again in the front hall to the right of the entrance, is more of Hermes’ own quite superb photography from the physically world as he takes us on a further visit to Lisbon’s Reservatorio da Patriarcal, also known as the Water Museum. Captured in a black and white, these are quite studding photos in terms of their focus, angle and contrasts of shadow and light which bring the walls and walkways of the museum to life in an almost tactile way; one can literally sense the smooth hardness of the metal railings and steps and the soft roughness of the stone.

In all, an engaging series of art displays from six equally engaging artists

SLurl Details

• Kondor Art Museum, Kondor Art Centre (Royal Tea, rated Adult)

Alex Riverstone sent me an invite to visit his Sugarfish Village, which opened its doors on October 8th, 2024, with a celebration of art running through until the end of the month entitled the Sugarfish Village Art Walk, run in collaboration of Michiel Bechir.

The Village sits within a tropical location at ground level below Alex’s Sugarfish Photography gallery, a place I first visited in July of 2024 (see: A Sugarfish Gallery in Second Life), and offers a number of attractions and points of interest and fun. First among these are the studio spaces, available for artists to use for up to 3 months at a time, rent-free – for more on this see below.

For the Art Walk event, invited artists have been able to set-out their art along the sands and flagstones of the beach, with each artist allocated space for four pieces each. Those participating are: ArtemisDemeter, KharisAdrasteia, TaniaAltAlbatros, YsabellaRose, Alex Riverstone, Ceakay Ballyhoo, Franny Fairywren, Georgie Iceghost, Karsten Iceghost, Lalie Sorbet, Maggie Runo, Noa Cloud, Prins Evergarden, Raven Arcana, Shosha Stransky, Therese Carfagno, Thomaz Blackburn, and Zia Branner. Given this list, the art is diverse, covering Second Life landscapes, avatar studies, and physical world art uploaded to Second Life.

The studio spaces, meanwhile, take the form of shipping containers converted for land-based use. Each is raised on legs and has a deck fronting it, allowing artists to use both the interior and exterior space (such as for seating in the case of the deck). A very generous 100 LI per unit is provided  – although Alex informs me this may vary, depending on what else is set-up with the Village. Other details of note on the use the studios includes:

• Units are offered on a quarterly basis, with quarters commencing on the first day of January, April, July and October each year. Available units can be requested at any time during the given quarter.
• Artists are allowed to sell their art and decorate the interiors of their studio, if they wish. A request to staff can be made to have interior colours in the containers changed as well.

• All images must conform with the Second Life Terms of Service. Images depicting ageplay, sex, pornography, racism, hatred or of a political nature will not be allowed.
• Nudity is allowed, within the bounds stated above.
• The emphasis is on art and photography created in the physical world or Second Life; images created using AI or similar tools is not allowed. The focus of the Village is the talent of and techniques used by photographers.

A full notecard on displaying at the Village is available on request.

As well as the studios and the open-air exhibitions space along the sands, the Village boasts the O-Shen Diner  sitting to one end of the studio containers. Set back a short way from the beach and reach via steps is the cosy little Tick Tock Café with seating indoors and out and a dance area just below it, between it and the beach (and presumably for opening events or just a little dance hang-out.

There’s also something of a clubhouse where people can hang out, complete with table games and fishing, and which has an over-the-water deck behind it offering another place to hang out. For those feeling energetic there also are rock walls behind the clubhouse, while a swan boat rezzer is available alongside the deck for those wanting to go a-paddling on the waters of the bay.

In all, Sugarfish Village makes for  an engaging place to both visit and appreciate art, and to display your own art if you are an artist / photographer. Highly recommended.

SLurl Details

• Sugarfish Village (Forgotten Tales, rated adult)