Tag: Nitroglobus

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.

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.

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.

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.

SLurl Details

•  Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (Sunshine Homestead, rated Moderate)
• Monocle Man Galleries (Flying fortress, rated Adult)

September 2023 sees Debora Kaz make a return to what is – in my personal opinion – consistently the finest gallery in Second Life for the presentation of engaging, provocative and evocative art: the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery operated and curated by Dido Haas. She brings with her a further chapter in her Invisible Cities series; this one entitled Essay in Desire.

I’ve covered two previous chapters of Invisible Cities, one of which was also displayed at Nitroglobus – see Invisible Cities: Fighting Women at Nitroglobus in Second Life – and also one hosted at Artsville Galleries – see: Invisible Cities: The Future in the Present Overflows in Second Life. While I would not necessarily call Essay In Desire a “sequel” per se to those earlier exhibitions, I would perhaps refer to it as a further chapter in Debora’s exploration and presentation of themes of womanhood in the modern era.

Within Fighting Women, Debora explored the manner where – for much of history – women have had to survive within a – dare I say largely patriarchal – framework as objects of desire (and objects in general); a situation which often gives rise to physical, mental and psychological violence towards us, which can be both direct and also indirect (such as with the current onslaught against a woman’s right to bodily autonomy being very publicly played out in the United States, courtesy of a largely misogynistic right-wing pseudo-religious political movement). Within The Future in the Present Overflows, the focus shifted to a more individual viewpoint on how such visible/invisible / physical/mental/”moral” violence and restrictive practices can have on a single life.

For Essay on Desire, Debora combines the approach of focusing on the individual and the sense of self seen in The Future in the Present Overflows, and of offering a wider study of the concept of desire as found within Fighting Women. However, rather than focusing on the more destructive constatations of desire as framed by that exhibition, here Debora focuses on the more personal exploration of the precepts of desire – notably those of sensuality, sexuality, and eroticism – and how they play a vital role within the process of self-discovery and understanding of oneself.

This exploration comes primarily through images and words. The the latter come in the form of an essay which both sits as an introduction to the exhibition and as a treatise for thought and introspection. It is a powerful piece; one which should be read with care and consideration (perhaps most particularly if you are a male wishing to gain a better insight to the female psyche as seen from the female perspective)v, as it is rich with insight and honesty.

The images all follow a particular form and flow. Offered in muted tones, they comprise twelve oriented in a narrow portrait form and a further six in the more usual (for Nitroglobus) large-format landscape style. All of them present images of a woman at ease with herself and her sexuality, her poses suggestive of her awareness of self and a willingness to further explore her innate beauty and eroticism without the need to conform its display through outright nudity or through directly sexual poses as might otherwise be demanded.

Each image is carefully bordered to either side (and in place directly flowing into the image)1 by mix of hand-written text, formulae, flowery etchings and hints of formal geometry, all of which presents a clear, if subtle, symbolism.

For example, the use of hand-written text reminds us that – whilst it might not be so common now for whatever reason – for a long time the closest confidant a woman might have had to bestow her secrets and desires upon was her diary. Through its pages, she could give vent to desires, wishes, hopes, and thoughts which otherwise could never be delivered in public, the diary thus becoming both a small measure of release and a reminder of imprisonment and denial enforced by society.

These constraints are further emphasised by the use of formulae and geometry. Both symbolise control, order, logic and the reductive manner of society to define everything to the simplest of terms wherein everything – including the nature of woman – has a strictly defined place. This imposition of constraint and order extends into the 3D elements to be found within of Essay, where the upright and slanting poles are ranged around female figures as if to fence them in and confine their ability to express.

Finally, there are the figurines and the use of flowers within them images. Together, these present a gentle, visual underlying of a central truth within Debora’s essay:

This process of self-discovery is an intimate dance with oneself, where each step is a journey of self-unveiling. Like petals delicately unfurling to the sun, she reveals her deepest passions and fantasies, allowing her mind and body to be in harmony. The pursuit of pleasure becomes a celebration of life itself, an ode to her essence.

– Debora Kaz, Essay on Desire

However, to suggest Essay is a complex exhibition requiring deep thought would perhaps be unfair. Yes, there is a rich layering of ideas and thought. But at the same time, the central message is also self-evident through the beauty and honesty contained within the words and the images. It is a message that is inescapable and true: freedom of expression and self-discovery is an inalienable right, which should be available to all of us. For as Debora concludes quite perfectly in the case of contemporary woman:

The need for self-knowledge, in this context, transcends the physical and delves into the deepest layers of the soul … This self-understanding is the key that unlocks the door to intimate and genuine relationships, where eroticism flows naturally.

In a world that is in constant evolution, the contemporary woman embraces the journey of self-knowledge as an act of self-love and empowerment. She understands that her sensuality and eroticism are intrinsic parts of who she is, and by exploring them with sincerity, she inspires not only herself but also those around her to embrace the quest for their own truth with curiosity and gratitude.

– Debora Kaz, Essay on Desire

SLurl Details

• Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (Sunshine Homestead, rated: Moderate)

Now open at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated and operated by Dido Haas, is an exhibition by Caly Applewhyte (Calypso Applewhyte). Entitled Through Their Eyes, it opened of June 5th and is the second exhibition I’ve visited of late (the first being Yes Her, which I reviewed for both itself and a possible wider context here) seeking to make a valid statement about women in society, and the unfair bias all too often demonstrated concerning our right simply to be who we want to be in societies – including, increasingly, even within so-called liberalised nations in the west – and not to be subject to uneven demands / expectations.

As Caly offers her own very clear and concise description of the focus of Through Their Eyes, I won’t bore you with my own subjective ramblings; instead, I’ll quote Caly directly.

Women have long been an integral part of society, but their experiences and perspectives are often ignored or undervalued. When we look at the world through women’s eyes, we see a complex and multifaceted reality.

In many societies, women are expected to conform to certain standards of behaviour and appearance, which can be restrictive and limiting. These societal expectations can have an impact on women’s self-esteem, confidence and sense of worth. Women often face a double standard, where they are judged more harshly than men for the same behaviours or actions. Despite these challenges, women have shown incredible resilience and strength, and have made significant contributions to society in a variety of fields.

– Caly Applewhyte, on Through their Eyes

Through women’s eyes we can better understand the challenges they face, the unique perspectives they bring and the importance of promoting gender equality. By recognizing and addressing these challenges, and promoting women’s unique perspectives and contributions, we can work towards a more just and equitable society for all.

– Caly Applewhyte, on Through their Eyes

Thus, the exhibition presents a series of individual studies representing women of many ethnicities and backgrounds, even one a focused head-and-shoulders portrait in which the colour of skin, style of hair, mode of dress (where visible), is not intended to be the primary focus (although they clearly have a role to play in reminding us that women are global citizens who come from many backgrounds and social groups and who aspire to many things – just like the male of our species). What is important in these images are the subject’s eyes.

Whether looking directly at the camera or focused on something unseen from the perspective of the camera’s lens, the eyes of the women Caly has created / drawn together for this series all speak to matters of intelligence, vitality, hope, strength, desire; the emotions and drives that play such a key role in the lives of men, often to high levels of peer praise and adulation, but when shown by women are discounted – or worse, derided or subjected to passive-aggressive responses that (truth be told) perhaps speak to the fragility of the male ego than anything else.

These are eyes that speak of a wish to be free to express, to strive, to achieve; they present each individual in these portraits as an individual. At the same time, they offer a window by which the the world might be seen as women are too often forced to regard it: as a place of struggle simply to be accepted as an individual with needs, wants, drive and desires. In considering the world the eyes in these portraits are looking out upon, some might be encouraged to better understand the constant uphill struggle women face to simply gain a foothold of equitable respect within societies which are still the world over, driven by a patriarchal expectation of position and privilege rather than equality and openness.

SLurl Details

• Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (Sunshine Homestead, rated: Moderate)

May has brought with it not one but two exhibitions at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas. Whilst both very different in tone and content, they are nevertheless connected in that each has a particular source of inspiration / interpretation.

Occupying the Annex section of the Gallery, and having opened on May 2nd, is a compact exhibition which should be noted as potentially Not Suitable For Work (NSFW), given the subject is nude studies. Entitled Zorian Women, it presents a total of 15 studies of the female form, as imaged by Kian (random26356). Fourteen of these (the 15th is rather more novel in approach!), have been inspired by the nude studies of “the Swedish Impressionist”, Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920).

Zorn was an incredibly gifted artist, a veritable virtuoso working in multiple formats and styles – watercolours, oils, pencil, etching, sculpture – to produce an incredible range of art during his lifetime. A graduate of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, at the age of 29 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur at the 1889 World Fair in Paris, and he would gain international recognition for his portraiture, with subjects including three US Presidents and King Oscar II of Sweden, whilst he and his wife Emma would go on to established The Bellman Prize for Swedish poetry, which is still awarded annually by Swedish Academy.

Zorn’s repertoire included a series of female nude studies which became particularly noted for their unique style. Initially produced in watercolours, these depicted his models fully unclothed and painted against the backdrop of the open countryside of  Dalarna, the district where he and Emma lived in Sweden. Such was the form and impact of the pieces in this collection, they became known under the collective name of Zornkulla. 

It is these works Kian celebrates within his exhibition. This is no easy task, because despite their apparent casualness of presentation, employing a loose brushwork, soft tones and gently blurred edges, the Zornkulla paintings are all incredibly well composed through use of colour, pose, placement of elements such as water and the horizon and features within the landscape beyond the nude subject, all of which results in a visual play: focus on the subject, and she immediately comes into sharp focus, the background dissolving so as not to be noticed. But then focus on the backdrop, and the subject herself appears to dissolve into it, becomes an almost natural part of the landscape, rather than appearing as a something standing within it.

Emulating this technique, Kian offers that same sense of loose brushwork and familiar soft tones whilst adding his own interpretation on Zorn’s Zornkulla, thus offering something fresh and new.

Within the main halls of Nitroglobus is the first solo exhibition by Nowhere B. A relative newcomer to SL photography and to the art exhibition scene here – his first time exhibition was at an ensemble event in 2021 – there could not be a better, more nurturing environment than Nitroglobus under Dido’s stewardship, by which he could spread his wings into the world of solo exhibitions.

Entitled Intimistic Journey, this is an engaging and somewhat personal selection of pieces by Nowhere B., representing as it does a record of his journeys through Second Life’s richly varied landscapes and settings, whilst also offering hints of his inner responses and experiences during those visits (hence the intimist subtext to the title).

Given this, these are not you usual captures of places seen in Second Life. Instead they offer a highly personalised perspective (in places quite literally!) and narrative to present not just reflections on the places Nowhere visited, but his potential mood and thoughts on seeing them. This is helped in part by the artist including himself – and his John Steed-like bowler and brolly – in many of the images in a manner that draws us into his thinking without bashing u over the held with obviously posed context and narrative.

Taken individually or together, Zorian Women and Intimistic Journey present engaging, highly visual and expressive exhibitions which can be enjoyed both independently to one another, or as a joint visit to Nitroglobus, with Zorian Women set to remain in place through into the better part of June.

SLurl Details

• Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (Sunshine Homestead, rated: Moderate)

Now open at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, curated by Dido Haas, is an engaging exhibition of 2D and 3D art by JadeYu Fhang. This doesn’t actually say a lot, because the fact is, JadeYu never fails to engage the grey matter with her art; her work is constantly evocative and provocative, brining forth a narrative with which to draw her audience in.

However, this exhibition comes with a slight difference in terms of a deliberate haziness of intent on the part of the artist, a haziness intended to further engage the observer’s eyes and minds.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: JadeYu Flang – Sans TitreThis haziness starts with the exhibit’s title: Sans Titre (“Untitled”, or if you prefer, “Without Title”), which as JadeYu notes, is an intentional step so as not to sway visitors with preconceptions ahead of arriving at the gallery and witnessing the work first hand. This haziness then continues through the works themselves, the intention being to leaving interpretation of at least the 2D elements to the eyes and thoughts of the beholder.

Which is not to say there is not a central theme running through this exhibition, or that it is  in any way random in content or execution. Rather the reverse: the theme is made clear; however, the artist’s intent it more about using the theme as a basic framework with which to allow us to view the works and generate our own understandings of the drawings presented, rather than have the images serve to underscore the theme itself.

This actually brings me to an awkward crux: how best to offer insight into Sans Titre without impinging my own (and ultimately subjective) description of that theme, and thus colouring your reaction to the images and 3D sculptures? As such, this review is a little more circumspect than my usual offerings relating to exhibitions at Nitroglobus, as I’d rather try to keep JadeYu’s desire to provide a framework of theme, rather than direct people to specifics – so I’ll minimise things by quoting her own words:

Let’s call it a matter of violence inside bodies, facial expressions (3D) leading to the intention of erasing the other person, as suggested in the images (2D). The papers around the women? These papers indicate words, insults and other ignominy which are thrown in women’s faces throughout their lifes. Words loaded with hatred and violence “the killing words”. Nothing is written on the papers… it’s up to you to imagine what could be there.

Why women?

They are like the symbol, the mirror of those who through a brutality, a destructive will seek to destroy. To destroy everything that in no way corresponds to fluidity and natural roundness. Flexibility and openness is not the order of the day, the preference is for the square shape and it must be respected, locking up any will to exist outside the frame.

–  JadeYu Flang

With those words to guide you, I’m go to say anything else, other than to say that – again as is usual with JadeYu’s work – San Titre is stunningly visual in both the 2D and 3D art presented. Instead, I’ll leave you to pay a visit and both witness and cogitate JadeYu’s work and the realities it explores, for yourself.

SLurl Details

• Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (Sunshine Homestead, rated: Moderate)