Diomita Maurer’s Blog

Ever heard about Moya, about Patrick Moya? No? Nor did I.
Looking for a place to visit and scrolling through the SL destination guide I came across Studio Moya: “Explore this creative, messy and chaotic art space by Patrick Moya“.
Well I did explore it starting at Moya Land.

Patrick Moya (born 1955 in Troyes, France), is a French artist. He is a part of the artistic movement “Ecole de Nice”. Moya has been at the forefront since the 1970s of straddling the latest forms of media and technology to benefit art rather than rendering it extinct. He is an early pioneer of video art.
Moya become a digital artist since his early work on computer in the mid-80s : now, since 2007, he is the owner of a virtual Moya Land in the 3D web of Second Life.
In 2009, he participates to the first major exhibition about “Art in Second Life”, under the title “Rinascimento Virtuale ». It was in the museum of Anthropology of Florence, the City of the Renaissance, where an entire room was devoted to the “Moya civilization”.

In summer 2011, the Moya Universe is arrived to maturity, as demonstrated by the big mural-installation of 90 meters long, a fresco who told the story of Moya civilization, on the walls of the art center La Malmaison, in Cannes. This exhibition, built also in SL, allowed to visitors to meet the artist from a distance, to ask questions and to visit with him his virtual Moya Land.
Today, Moya is living between real and virtual Worlds, and, with the name of “Moya Janus” (the name of his avatar), he answers to journalist (Radio Canada, 2013), to students (school of Fine Arts of Venice, Quebec, Zurich or Milan …), participates or organize many exhibitions, real or virtual, reproduces Art Fairs or Museums (Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Ceramics Museum in Vallauris …), works with a chief (Christian Sinicropi of Restaurant “La Palme d’Or” in Cannes) … Or receive visitors worldwide and makes for them a guiding tour in a virtual car.
(excerpt from Wikipedia)

Moya consists of the 4 islands Moya, Moya Land, Studio Moya and Moya Museum. The 4 sims are fully packed with museums, entertainment, places to discover, shopping, park and garden, with architecture, education, oversized sculptures, hidden art in a pyramid, different forms of transportation (airport, modern city railroad, rezzable cars), paintings and reproductions of real world exhibitions – way to much to fully explore within an hour. For a first overview I recommend to watch the 3 minute video about Moya, which is from 2015.

Moya Patrick (moya janus) has also a website with tons of information about his work and about Moya in Second Life. Unfortunately it is in French and I shy back from translating parts of it although I understand a little bit French (with my long forgotten school knowledge and the help of a dictionaire). Just look it up yourself www.moyapatrick.com

I really don’t know where to begin or where to end a description of Moya, hence I just publish a few of the 40 pictures I took during my one hour visit. For someone loving virtual art in Second Life Moya is something you must experience yourself. Just amazing and overwhelming. Thank you Partick Moya!

Landmark to Moya Land
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moya%20Land/53/95/36
Video about Moya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx1zzjBNunY
Patrick Moya’s website
http://moyapatrick.com/