Tag: Artsville

Insomnia, or sleeplessness, is a terms which might all have some familiarity with, although its definition covers a broad range of conditions and circumstances in which a person has trouble sleeping. In fact, the conditions under which insomnia can occur are so broad, analysis of the problem through study either by randomised controlled trials or via systematic review can lead to very different outcomes and even biased in findings.

Very broadly speaking, insomnia might be split into insomnia disorder (ID), which might de defined as protracted difficulties in sleeping and obtaining rest which might be tied to specific health / lifestyle / psychological issues, and insomnia symptoms, which refers more to shorter (but equally intense) periods where our sleep is disrupted due to briefer onsets of one or more of the symptoms of insomnia. The latter may run from simply eating a large meal too late in to evening and being unable to sleep while the digestive system continues to chug away through to the more recognised symptoms of insomnia such as a rise in anxiety or fear, and similar emotional condition or when we “can’t turn our brains off” as a result of something that occurred during the waking hours.

Whatever form it takes, between 10% and 30% of all adults can be suffering from insomnia at any given time, and around half of all adults will experience insomnia symptoms of one form or another during the course of a year – with up to 6% of them dipping into ID lasting more than a month.

It is these latter aspects of insomnia which are examined within the individual pieces making up Insomnia, an immersive installation by Bee (Filipa Emor) within a sky Gallery at Artsville. In doing to, the pieces come together to offer a broader perspective on Insomnia Disorder as a whole; one that is perhaps very personal to the artist – but through its individual parts, will doubtless hold meaning for each of us who visit.

Insomnia reminds us that the night is not just for dreams, but also for confronting our deepest thoughts … Each image is a fragment of my sleepless nights, shared to resonate with those who have also stared at the ceiling, chasing sleep.

– Bee (Filipa Emor)

Insomnia is also a genuine tour-de-force of artistic exploration and exposition; the arts and the space within which it is displayed – and designed by the inimitable Konrad (Kaiju Kohime) – combine to present an installation seeped in meaning and metaphor, inviting exploration and provoking contemplation. When visiting, you must have local sounds enabled to fully experience the installation and make sure you are using the Shared Environment; both are essential to this visual and physical journey.

Both the art and the environment are presented in monochrome tones of white and black – appropriate, given the subject – which combine to give sense of chiaroscuro which spreads from the individual pieces of art to encompass the entire installation, increasing the sense of being caught within that strange space and state where we hover listlessly between sleep and wakefulness; a space prowled by thoughts and inner demons intent on preventing us from passing peacefully from the former to the latter as the night hours pass.

Each piece here portrays a different facet of sleeplessness: the longing, the struggle, and the strange beauty of being awake while the world dreams. Insomnia reminds us that the night is not just for dreams, but also for confronting our deepest thoughts.

– Bee (Filipa Emor)

I don’t want to offer my interpretations of the images Bee presents; I have little doubt they will resonate in a personal, intimate way for anyone seeing them. What I will say about them is that they are designed to be touched, fading and brightening in a portrayal of the struggle to find sleep and thought roil within. They also have an order to them, as indicated by the clock display under each one, marking the passage of the night as they progress from the far side of the information board at the landing point, and progress counter-clockwise around the installation’s lower level.

Accompanying the images are quotes on the nature of sleep, restlessness, insomnia and the soul. Some of these also brighten and dim on being touched, in reflection of the flux of being they each represent. Located higher up within the installation, they are reached by stairways and walkways  – as does a bed in one corner. Together these two climbs present metaphors: one for our rising desire to find the sanctuary of sleep as the heartbeat ticking of passing time torment us, and the other the physical act of climbing the stairs to find our bed – possibly accompanied by thoughts of whether it will be to sleep – or to lie trapped in thought.

Beautifully expressive and presented, Insomnia should not be missed.

SLurl Details

• Insomnia at Artsville (Seabreeze, rated Adult)

Monday, November 25th, 2024 saw the opening of the 2024 edition of We Orange The World, hosted by the Artsville Galleries and Community, and organised by Jerzzie Reece-Redstar. Featuring the work of 24 women from across Second Life, the exhibition is now in its 4th year, and is intended to run alongside the United Nations Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which runs annually from November 25th through to December 10th inclusive.

According to the  UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), violence against women  – notably femicide, the intentional murder of a woman or girl purely on the basis of her gender – is on the rise globally. In 2023 alone, the UNODC produced data which showed that every ten minutes through the year, a woman or girl was murdered by their partner or a member of their family, and one in four adolescent girls was abused by a family member. Nor is the violence restricted to physical abuse: psychological violence is a very genuine thing – one that can extend into virtual spaces as well, thus adding a further layer of relevance to We Orange the World.

The United Nations Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence was initiated in 1991 at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute, in an attempt to reverse the use of violence against women. 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.

Within We Orange the World, now in its fourth year, artists have been invited to submit 2D and / or 3D art 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: Blip Mumfuzz, Gwyn Evergarden, Duna Gant, Raven Arcana, Carelyna, Ilyra Chardin, Mareea Farrasco,  Dido Haas, Margo Hollak, Jaminda Moon, Selen Minotaur, Rhiana Rhiano, Sina Souza, Lori Bailey, Cana Restless, Masggie Runo, Marvayu Anante, Jerzzie Reece, Maloe Vasant, Scylla Rhiadra, Redi Bixchin, Tess Carfagno, Lizzy Swordthain, and Debra Kaz.

The exhibition area follows the same format as recent years: a central outdoor art display around the main event space as it sits under an appropriately orange sky (the use of orange and black through the setting, with other colours gently intruding, is striking in and of itself). This area hosts individual pieces by the majority of the artists as well as offering gifts to visitors.

On the four cardinal point of the event / exhibition space, are are four indoor exhibition halls, each dedicated to larger exhibitions by Debra Katz, Selen Minotaur, Tess Carfagno and Ilyra Chardin; with Debra, Selen and Ilyra mixing 2D and 3D pieces in their installations. Finally, the four corners of the event area offer places of reflection, contemplation, music and remembrance.

We Orange the World traditionally includes daily events; unfortunately, no details beyond the first two days were passed to me in the invitation folder I received, and I didn’t find any information at the event itself. It is entirely possible such information is available of the event’s Facebook page, so if you have an account there (I don’t, so cannot confirm) do hop over and take a look for yourself there, just in case.

SLurl Details

• We Orange the World, Artsville (Caribbean Ocean, rated Moderate)

Update, January 15th, 2025: Artsville has relocated.

Currently open at Artsville Galleries and community Hub, the arts hub managed by Frank Atisso with the support of Jerzzie Reece-Redstar (jerzzie Reece), are two entirely independent exhibitions by two very different artists which carry enough of a slender thread between them that I’m going to cover both here as they spoke to me, and I hope both artists will forgive me for combining them in this manner.

On the ground level at Artsville, and within Gallery 1 there is Manipulators, a collection of black and white photographic images by Christian Carter (XJustFriendX) which opened on November 15th, 2024. Christian presages the exhibition within his SL Profile with the comment I wanted to show in these photos things that worry me a lot lately… And having viewed the exhibition, I can say he’s not alone in the line of thinking and reflection taken within the exhibition, which is more fully described within the gallery with a quote attributed to the Nobel prize-winning Swedish biochemist, Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius (August 1902 – October 1971):

We live in a world where unfortunately the distinction between true and false appears to become increasingly blurred by manipulation of facts, by exploitation of uncritical minds, and by the pollution of the language.

David I. Haberman cites the quote as coming from Tiselius whilst speaking at the 1970 Nobel Prize Ceremony (Tiselius received his Nobel prize in 1948, but was Chairman of the Board for the Nobel Foundation from 1964 through 1968, and thereafter remained involved with the Foundation through to close to his death).  As such, and given today’s global political climate, it is a highly apt and relevant statement.

Within Manipulators, Christian explores the reality of the reality contained within Tiselius’ words through images highlighting the manner in which language, reality, truth and facts have become so easily manipulated, most notably through the growing reliance on the likes of the soundbite, social media and belief in media channels which see revenue as more important that the transmission of facts. Social / mass media in particular have a lot to answer for: from allowing the rise of polluted language (“alternative facts”;  “fake news”) to become accepted means to deny critical thinking and allow the easy acceptance of lies and deceit, through to the elevation of charlatans, egotists, billionaires and those who would consider themselves the super-elite, aloft from the laws and requirements which bind the rest of us, as the new saviours.

The images themselves speak clearly to all of this, and while it might be subjective on my part, I would perhaps suggest viewing them in order from the right as you enter the exhibition hall; not because there is a specific order or narrative flow to them, but simply because following them in this way will bring around the images in turn to finish as Christian’s core message to all of us: we are each the heroes needed to make the world a better place.

Heroes are also the subject of the second exhibition I’m covering here, that of Bleu’s (Bleu Oleander) Tomb of the Unnamed Hero. This can be reach from the ground level of Artsville via the teleport boards.

This is an installation which is best seen using the Shared Environment and with media enabled if not set to Autoplay (click the movie camera icon, top right of the viewer menu, next to the volume control icon – not the local media stream button).

Perhaps the best way to describe the installation is to use Bleu’s words:

This tomb/temple project is dedicated to all those who have gone before us, is a place for reflection, reflection on who we are and the lives of those that paved the way for us. A reflection on the ultimate meaning of our own lives. Each contribution worthy of remembrance. We now also understand ourselves not only as expressions of those that have come before us, but as ecologies of our microbiomes … we exist in symbiosis. Our genomes and microbiomes are a record of life that came before us and helped make us who we are.

This project is a virtual three dimensional interpretation of these ideas.

In passing through and climbed Bleu’s installation – or by imply sitting within it – we are given the opportunity to reflect on some basic truths. That while there are many remembered for their impact on history, good and bad and have been immortalised in book, verse, song, story, film and television; in reality we can all be heroes in our own way, simply for being who we are, and in how we help and positively impact all those with whom we interact; within each of us reside the power to affect change and growth, to bring forth good and share it with others.

Thus, Bleu reminds us that even when times seem at their darkness, we can draw strength, compassion and understanding from those who came before us, and both share it with those around us and dedicate it and our own to those who follow us.

Update, January 15th, 2025: Artsville has relocated.

Having opened on August 21st, 2024 at Frank Atisso’s Artsville Galleries and Community, Lalie Sorbet’s Breaths is a visually engaging installation of animated 3D art and 2D elements accompanied by a subtle sound scape.

Lalie has a talent for producing art and installations that stand as moments in time, encouraging us to set aside the rush and hubbub of life and simply relax and be immersed in the beauty of what we are seeing. As I noted with Carousels, her work is gentle to the point of being hypnotic, wrapped in a natural, organic beauty.

With Breaths, Lalie further embraces all of the above in a most marvellous installation that is not there simply to be assessed or viewed, but to be experienced inwardly by encouraging us to see the animated elements as visual representations of one of our most fundamental autonomous acts: that of breathing.

Of all our autonomous acts, governed by several homeostatic mechanisms, breathing is the one of which we are perhaps most often consciously aware, and the one we might most readily consciously influence: we intentionally breath deeply to offset panic / fear  (and the primal  flight or fight reaction) and restore equanimity, or to help lower heart rate and bodily functions after excessive physical exertion, etc. During certain types of therapy, it is the mechanism we are often asked to focus upon to induce a state of relaxation, and so on. And the fact is, that the simple act of breathing is both naturally calming; an invisible force with a reach across every aspect of our lives; a natural cycle of inhalation and exhalation marked – when the rhythm is unforced – by natural pauses that can so induce a restful, composed state.

Breaths beautifully capture all of this through the gentle motion and pauses evident in the 3D elements and the 2D elements beneath them, coupled with their attendant sound scape (do have local sounds enabled). They encourage calmness, their motion gently hypnotic, working with the breath-like susurrations encouraging us to turn inwards and be aware of our own breathing, of our simple state of living within this very moment.

How one might interpret this installation is highly personal – leaving aside the risk of over-analysing. Hanging over the centre of the installation, for example is an element perhaps most clearly suggestive of breathing: a central spherical element offering, perhaps a suggestion of the fine networking of the lungs with the motion of air in and out of them on a that cyclic basis of inhalation and exhalation.

There is also the sheer organic look and feel to the individual spherical pieces and their 2D companions that encourages broader thinking. Within the animated spheres exotic shapes move; objects seem to divide and reform, or offer visions of what might be strange creatures suspended before us. Observing them individually in motion is like peering into the eyepiece of a powerful microscope and seeing the physical essence of life: cells dividing and joining, repairing damage, providing renewal and growth, or witness the motion of the microbes and antibodies that also play such a vital role in maintaining us as living, breathing organisms.

Breaths is a further rewarding and elegant installation by an artist with a gift of presenting us with images and reflections on the organic beauty of Nature and life. Richly layered yet utterly approachable, it is an exhibition that speaks for itself, whether seen purely as art-in-motion or as the metaphor it has been designed to be. When visiting, do be sure to have your viewer set to Use Shared Environment (World → Environment), and if you are using a non-PBR viewer, make sure you have Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) enabled via Preferences → Graphics.