‘Stömol’ creator Huckleberry Hax exhibits his new movie’s main character at The 22

Two simultaneous photo exhibitions dedicated to the sci-fi aesthetics in Second Life: one of them features Huckleberry Hax and the universe that he created for Stömol, the first full-length movie totally filmed in Second Life, and for its sequel, Waarheid, which he has been preparing now; the other one brings the amazing photographer and creator […]

Between dreams and nightmares: imagined futures in exhibition by Wicca Merlin and me

For the second part of this holiday season’s celebration in The 22 art space, the fabulous photographer, model and creator Wicca Merlin and I present to Second Life’s residents Electric Sheep, one of the two exhibitions dedicated to SL’s sci-fi and cyberpunk universe – the other one being Huckleberry Hax’s Waarheid: Truth Hunter – that […]

‘Duet’: pairs of photos in exhibition at the 22

Duet is an exhibition that combines pairs: two photographers, couples of images and geminate ideas. It features Evie and Dutch Ireman and runs from today, October 2nd, until December 11th at The 22 art space, in Bellisseria. Its final form was developed somewhat by chance, when Randy and I approached a number of artists with […]

A visual dialogue between 2 masters of photography in SL

The exhibition Dialogues: patterns, people promotes a conversation between the works of Melusina Parkin and Whiskey Monday, two of the most well-known photographers in Second Life. It’s an interaction whose participants are their images and whose substance is the polysemous repertoire of photographic art. Dialogues… runs from April 9 to June 26 at The 22 […]

Ciottolina Xue’s Bots and Blossoms spread hope at ‘The 22’

Of Bots and Blossoms is the new exhibition by Ciottolina Xue that opens today, November 14, at The 22 art space in Bellisseria. It combines two different sets of virtual sculptures by the artist. In one set, it shows robots in scenes that may be, at the same time, somewhat funny and poetic. The other […]

Screenshot or photograph? Does how you label it really matter?

Myra Wildmist started an interesting discussion on what virtual photography really is and if it is so different from, let’s say, real-world photography (since she refers at some point to Wikipedia, I’d notice that what she calls virtual photography is classified by the free online encyclopedia rather as in-game photography – but, yes, photography). The […]

Scaling down skyscrapers in order to build a big project

Do tiny skyscrapers make sense? Well, that’s exactly what artist Gem Preiz has built in Second Life: small massive buildings which are not scale models, even if they are just virtual. Those wonders, forming a somewhat futuristic cityscape, can be seen in his installation Skyscrapers, which invites us to think of scales in the virtual […]

There’s still time to check the exhibitions at SL16B (and enjoy some pictures)

One of the most interesting aspects of the Second Life birthday celebrations has been the community exhibitions, and checking the ones prepared for SL16B may become a fun time for visitors at the event. It’s particularly important, I’d say, because it reminds us of how the use of SL can be a creative one. After […]

Eupalinos, architect of an eccentric world

When I made a list of six curious ways to die in Second Life, artist Eupalinos Ugajin suggested I could try an additional means of killing my avatar: by throwing the virtual me from a giant catapult in Avaloir, Eupalinos’s sim. So I did – and that was not the end of the road for […]

Music made visual mobilizes even those who can’t hear it

I’ve been recently invited to contribute with some pictures to Mix Tape, an exhibition at LEA 11 that opens today, Sept. 30, in Second Life, with a party at 12 pm SLT featuring DJ Kaj Juutilainen. The somewhat chaotic installation built by Souix for LEA translates music into a visual representation that sends visitors into […]

The spirit of dancing

Dancing With Spirits is an art installation by theda (or Theda Tammas) which is being hosted throughout August and September by Galleria Kakku, curated by my friend Pieni. It presents to the viewer an intriguing ball of different figures – alone, in pairs and trios – and one can join them to be part of the […]

ArtSpace and TejanoTech: against the tide, a university that still flourishes in SL

The new ArtSpace gallery has opened recently in Second Life and I took some time to visit its first exhibition and the surrounding sim where it is located: TejanoTech, kept by the University of Texas at San Antonio. Both the gallery and the sim actually fit each other and feel like a coherent environment, because […]

Will we meet far away? (or sims as art works)

ATTENTION: UPDATE on the party at the end of the text. The invitation, open to the whole Second Life community, to a celebration called Radio Days, on Saturday, November 21, at The Far Away, brings a good opportunity for me to share some thoughts on sims (or parts of sims) as art works. The event […]

Immersive video art meets the virtual world

Mediamorphosis is a multisensory and interactive art installation by Djehuti-Anpu (display name), or Thoth Jantzen (user name), that has been in Second Life since 2013 and which, two years later, keeps being impressive for its spectacle of lights and music and for its immersive strength. Made of five more or less connected parts (or six, […]

When (second) life imitates art

A new visit that I’ve recently paid to Da Boom in Second Life led me to think of a certain way in which we, SL residents, commonly experience some traditional forms of art: by recreating them in a 3D environment and interacting with the pieces that we build. As I said, this particular journey started […]

“Lot had no chance to become who she meant to be”

“On good days, Beth is able to imagine thatLot is flying like a bird, with her face towards the sky,searching for the stars.On bad days, Beth can only be angry about her loss.” I haven’t written any posts for a while now. Blame it both on RL and on some technical difficulties I’ve been having […]

At SL’s very first region, Escher and Seifert Surface

For the second year in a row, Second Life’s community is organizing Second Life’s anniversary celebration – and this time, the occasion is even more special, because we are talking about SL’s 10th anniversary. The celebration will be held in June, but the recruiting phase for those who would like to take part in the organization of […]

Dryness and humidity (or exploring Dryland and 2304 Rain)

The opposition between “wet” (and its variations, such as “humid” or “moist”) and “dry” has been attached to a number of meanings – and sometimes, more interestingly, to various systems of classification – throughout history and in different societies. Classic medicine philosophy, at least in some of its versions, observed from Antiquity to the Modern […]

A surreal dream

For decades since the 1920s, Surrealism has shaped, at least to a great extent, the representation of dreams in art. No matter if its popularity led to accusations of commercialism, Surrealism became a relatively widespread cultural movement and, especially, its images became icons. Decalcomania, grattage and other techniques were supposed to give painting the psychic […]