Cica Ghost is widely known for her 3D art installations – which I always find a joy to blog about. Within many of her installations visitors will often find little two-dimensional stick figures, often animated. While perhaps less well-known to many more recent appreciators of art in Second Life, is that these two-dimensional pieces are very much a part of Cica’s Art, and have formed central parts of past exhibitions she has displayed in-world.
A reminder of this can currently be found at the Paris Metro Art Gallery, which is hosting a modest but charming exhibition of Cica’s work, 2D and 3D. On display are five of Cica’s 2D art elements, four of them her wonderful stick figure characters: three framed, and the fourth to be seen riding his bicycle along one wall, appearing and disappearing at either end of the barn-like setting for the exhibition.
Also on offer are several of the quirky (and fun) little vehicles Cica often provides within her 3D installations so that visitors can drive around in them.
The first of these – and one of my favourites – is the catomobile from 50 Cats (see here for more), just inside the gallery’s front entrance and sitting with the 2D art.beyond the dividing wall are six more of the vehicles, with the Catomobile, BirdCar and MouseCar offered as drivable models for pootling around the exhibition space. As well as these, the exhibition has elements visitors my recognised from installations such as the metals girders seen in the likes of Bird People (see here).
This is small, uncomplicated exhibition, and a great introduction to Cica’s art for those unfamiliar with her larger exhibitions, and a great reminder of her past work for those who are.
Cica Ghost opened her new installation on March 21st, offering visitors the opportunity to spend a little time with the Bees and theBears. Like 50 Cats (see here for more), it is a whimsical piece, one which might put some visitors in mind of a certain Bear of Very Little Brain and his love of honey – although the furry characters here are far removed from any A.A. Milne.
The humour in the piece is evident from the About Land description, in which Cica poses a question and gives the answer:
Sitting under a blue-orange sky is a garden like island, rich in tall daisies (be sure to collect your own daisy from the sign at the landing point). Up on the hills to the north-east sits a little village of bee hives – the kind you might usually find hanging from the bough of a tree.
But these are not ordinary bee hives: each one is unique – some appear to have been knitted (and resemble boiled egg cosies), other appear to be made of wood, some are woven. All are home to a happy colony of bees – some of whom can be found asleep in their beds, others are setting out for work, little bags for collecting pollen carried in their legs.
The bears of the title appear to be a father and son. They live in a little cottage across the garden from the bee village, and their relationship with their buzz-ee neighbours looks to be a happy one. Among the daisies, papa bear is hauling a little trailer with a jar of honey in it, a little group of smiling bees watching him. More jars can be found neatly stacked in the cottage, outside of which another happy bee seems to be enjoying a conversation with Junior bear.
As is usual for Cica’s builds. there’s more to be found here: places to sit (mouse-over likely spots … tree stumps, red flowers….), some of which over single, static poses and others have a combination of static and animated poses. There’s also “beemobiles” to be found at various points. These are auto-rezzers; jump into one and it will sit you in version you can drive – just use the arrow / WASD keys when seated. And keep an eye out for giant Cica, as she keeps an eye on all that’s going on.
Bees and Bears is another delight from Cica. Light-hearted, whimsical and fun to explore. Like 50 Cats before it, it will put a smile on your lips – and perhaps give a little reminder of the important role bees play in our ecosystem.
Cica Ghost opened her new installation 50 Cats early in February 2018. Following on from Bird People, which presented something of a conundrum (see here for more), this is an altogether more light-hearted piece, offering a little tongue-in-cheek fun.
As a strap-line, the installation uses a quote by novelist and short story writer Bobbie Ann Mason, One day I was counting the cats and I absent-mindedly counted myself. It’s from her first published novel from 1982, Shiloh and Other Stories, although beyond the reference to counting cats, this doesn’t appear to have a deeper meaning for the installation – or at least, not one I could fathom.
A visit begins in the south-west corner of a sandy island. Almost entirely devoid of trees, this little island has a ring of houses, tall and thin with pitched roofs, surrounding its lone hill. It is atop the hill, with its wooden fence crown, that the cats can be found. And there really are fifty of them.
They are standing, sitting, lying down, rolling on the ground, chasing butterflies, watching one another, washing – doing all the things cats do. Some look happy, many look a little nervous, some have a look of pathos in their eyes, as if asking to be taken home and shown a little love. None of them show the slightest interest ion the two trees in their garden nor the dustbins occupying a corner, despite the latter oft being associated with stray cats. For human visitors however, a click on the lid of one of the bins might generate interest and raise a chuckle.
In a similar nature to the dustbins, there are a number of “bunny cars” – some of which can be touched for animations as well. These are also fun to play with, and grab the attention. Also to be found on the fence and on some of the buildings are Cica’s little cartoon stick people. And do keep an eye out for the mice; they are as captivating as the cats.
50 Cats is a wonderfully light-hearted build offers fun and smiles. For those who love cats, and wish to respond to the heartfelt looks of wanting to be taken home an loved, each one is available for sale. Just right-click to buy a copy; all can be resized to suit personal needs.
Bird People is Cica Ghost’s latest region-wide installation, and it presents something of a conundrum. In a largely denuded landscape, the ground of which has been partially and neatly divided into a black-on-white grid, sit giant, ornate metalworks. Some stand alone, others support great cages – or form cage-like structures, equally huge, while block-like towers, apparently made of stacked cubes also rise from the ground here and there. It’s a strange environment – and one, frankly, difficult to see when using the default landscape and following the viewing instructions (ALM enabled and Shadows set to Sun/Moon + Projectors).
Throughout the landscape, stairways rise, curl and undulate, some supported by metal structures, some starting from the blocky forms. All of them twist and turn, and run by rise and fall to connect the ground – or at least their foundation blocks – offering people climbs up to dizzying heights and the giant cages waiting there. Some of these cages, but many are occupied by strange creatures with the bodies of bird and the heads of men. Most of these creatures sit within their cages individually or in pairs, facing open doors or sides to their enclosures almost apprehensively, as if fearing stepping out into the world beyond.
What are we to make of this? The clue, perhaps, lies in the quote Cica has offered with the piece: We are all living in cages with the door wide open. It’s a quote from Star Wars creator George Lucas about creativity and imagination. It references the idea that we can all be creative, we can all soar far and wide on the wings of imagination, if we are only willing to just let go; So does the installation perhaps stand as a metaphor for this idea?
Certainly, there is a strong contrast between the expressions worn by the creatures who have stepped out of their cages and are variously gathered or dotted across the open spaces beneath their former prisons, and those who have yet to venture forth. The former – for the most part – appear happy, chatty, curious and even playfully (although there are one or two looking slightly wary). Those still within their cages look through open doorways with a mix of confusion, apprehension and uncertainty – or even close their eyes on their potential route to freedom. This contrast plays strongly into the idea that stepping beyond the confines of our personal cages – our comfort zones – if you will, and embracing the imagination can be a liberating, positive influence on us.
For me, and in keeping with the broader theme offered by Lucas’ quote, the installation stands as the embodiment of a piece written be Debbie Hampton , the blogger and writer behind The Best Brain Possible. In 2015 She used the quote as the title for an essay about overcoming personal fear and the apparent “comforts” we can have in allowing ourselves to become caged by a “normal” life; we become, in effect, our own jailers.
I’ve lived most of my life like a bird in a cage with the door wide open. At any time, I could have hopped on over to the opening, taken flight and soared to new heights. All along, I’ve known how to fly. No one clipped my wings.
So, what kept me in the cage? My own fear and self-imposed limitations held me there. I was my own prison guard. I think we are all born knowing how to fly, but life happens and beats us down little-by-little until we forget that we ever had this valuable skill.
I must also, and in passing, admit that Cica’s human-headed birds put me in mind of something else – something entirely unintended by Cica (I know this because I asked her!), so I’m not going to draw any parallels between the two. I’ll simply state that in looking at these creatures, I couldn’t help but be put in mind of the Brontitallians from Douglas Adams’ Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – and while it may have been unintentional, it was also quite delightful.
A conundrum it may first be upon first arriving within it, Bird People is worth exploring and thinking about – although I do perhaps suggest you try a Midnight windlight setting rather than the default; it doesn’t detract that much from the experience (just ensure you do have LM enabled and Shadows set to Sun/Moon + Projectors), and it can certainly make navigation a lot easier when climbing the various stairways and reduces the risk of falling off them somewhat.
“Take a cart through the land of owls,” is the invitation to those arriving at Land of Owls, Cica Ghost’s installation which opened on Monday, October 30th, 2017.
The carts in question seat two, and quaintly resemble little wooden boats on cart wheels, with a parasol raised in imitation of a sail, perhaps offering a little shade for those riding them. Stationary when empty, they will start rolling over the landscape when someone sits in the “a” seat – so if you’re going to ride one with a friend, make sure you both jump into the seats together!
Cast beneath a twilight sky, this landscape is typically Cica; a mysterious mix of gently undulating, and broken up by needle like hills and copses of bamboo. Also to be found here are trees denuded for leaf and branch and little tower blocks, standing alone or in little clusters. Among the needle hills, bamboo copses and little groups of tower blocks are small expanses of tufted grass and bright, happy daisies.
It’s a whimsical setting with perhaps a hint of seasonal mystery created by the windlight. And the owls? They are to be found scattered around the setting, keeping an eye on things as they sit in the branches of the old trees, or perch atop an old wardrobe, one of a number to be found sitting out in the open. They are not the only avian locals to be found here; patrolling the south side of the island are a group of crane-like birds, also being watched from a distance by the owls.
Is there a story to be told here? Perhaps, but not all of Cica’s installations are necessarily heavy on message or meaning; they can also be as much about fun and whimsy as anything else, and that certainly seems to be the case here.
Do keep in mind that while the carts can save your feet from doing all the work, they may not carry you everywhere – so it is worth having a wander on foot as well. There are also plenty of places to sit as well – another Cica hallmark – so its worth mousing over things while exploring. All told, another enjoyable exhibition by one of may favourite SL artists.
Floating is an accident, pure and simple. It was never intended to be a collaboration between Bryn Oh and Cica Ghost – but that is what it is. Which is not to say that it is anything unfortunate – far from it; it’s an installation that mixes fun with something of a slight social message.
As Bryn explains, the installation was originally intended to be her design, but built to display the 2D art of another person. But for some reason (shyness?), having secured a grant to use the region, the other artist did not follow through on their commitment and no 2D art was supplied – leaving Bryn holding the lease on a region and in need of an idea. Enter Cica Ghost. She and Bryn put their heads together and in a week, Floating had emerged, with the assistance of Desdemona Enfield and Serenity Mercier.
The core of the build is a city hugging a shoreline; at one end are high-rise apartments overlooking a marina with motor cruisers and boats. The people in the apartments are clearly wealthy or well-off; through the windows of one we can see a family sitting down for a sumptuous meal, a butler in attendance, in another, a family sits in coloured warmth. With the marina and the high-rise buildings, the evidence of wealth, it is hard not to be put in mind of somewhere like Monaco.
At the other end of the curving shoreline it is a different story. Here there are no glittering high-rises, only older buildings, grubbier in appearance, which in turn give way to humble, racked living pods. The beach here is also far from the pristine marina, with piles of detritus, while the absence of colour underlines the lack of affluence. Thus, a comment on the divide between those who have, and those who have less (and who serve?), is made.
However, this isn’t just a build with a message on society’s disparities; there is also a sense of fun yo be found. At the arrival point, visitors can take an umbrella and float around the build, while free-floating balloons also offer a means to float through the air. But be warned – care needs to be taken as there are blocks that periodically fall from the sky.
Also to be found at the landing point is a zap gun. This can be purchased for L$0, and allows people to hunt and shoot one another. Just make sure you join the experience in the region if you intend to place – otherwise, should you be shot by someone else, you’ll be teleported home, rather than just back to the landing point.
Floating is a curious, electric mix of art, message and fun (if visiting with others and the guns are being used). Instructions on obtaining the zap gun and on getting around can be found at the landing point.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 