Art in Second Life 2023 (29) “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery

05 Jun 2023 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to see the June exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte. The exhibition will be opened tonight, Monday, June 6th, at 12 PM SLT (9 PM Central Europe Time)

“Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte consists of 14 large pictures presented at the main hall of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery with it’s magic mirror floor. The poster above was made by David Silence based on one of the exhibited pictures, Adwehe provided an art piece fitting this exhibition.
Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) wrote about “Through their eyes”:
“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 behavior 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 behaviors or actions. Despite these challenges, women have shown incredible resilience and strength, and have made significant contributions to society in a variety of fields.
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.“

Impressions of “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

Starting with the exhibition poster, Caly focuses on faces, on the eyes and the facial expressions of women, not matter how they are dressed or styled, be it covered due to religious standards, be it cute, determined, black or white. Every face shown, every expression is a bit different and if you allow yourself to get in the shoes of these women you can try to see the world through their eyes. As always at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery the mirroring effect of the floor and the way the art is presented add a lot to overall experience. Just try to focus on one of the picture and immerse yourself into the face.

Impressions of “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) is a SL Photographer from France, who joined SL in 2010. Her focus is the avatar itself as a means of expression to transport emotions. She processes her pictures with Photoshop. I have seen her work already a few times and you can recognise her style, she has found her personal characteristic artistic style. Her pictures do tell stories, like good art does. And in her exhibitions she chooses a common base or theme for her pictures.
According to her profile Caly also blogs and has written articles for several magazines. You can see her work also on her flickr account.

The longer I look at the pictures I made of “Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte while writing this post, the more I am impressed, nothing distracts from the faces you look at.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Through their Eyes” by Caly (Calypso) Applewhyte. Thank you Caly for your art, another great exhibition.
As it is the June exhibition at the gallery “Through their Eyes” shall be available until the end of this month.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and to “Through their Eyes” by Caly Applewhyte
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com
Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) ‘s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/calypsoapplewhyte
Caly (Calypso Applewhyte) ‘s blog
https://calyswardrobe.blogspot.com/

Art in Second Life 2023 (25) “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery

10 May 2023 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to see the May exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy. The exhibition was opened Monday, May8th.

“Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy consists of 12 large pictures presented at the main hall of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery with it’s magic mirror floor. The poster above was made by David Silence based on one of the exhibited pictures, the creative light art was provided by Adwehe.
Dido Haas wrote in her notecard about “Intimistic Journey”:
“I have been following Nowhere Boy on flickr for some time now and saw his work at the collective exhibition Vision of Imago land. He definitely has a style of his own, which attracts me and made me decide to invite him to create an exhibition especially made for Nitroglobus.
The works shown are made at various places in SL, but they all bare the unmistaken signature of Nowhere Boy. Walk around and enjoy the meditative mood of the works, let them distract you from every day (SL) life.”

Impressions of “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

The artist Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire) wrote about his exhibition:
“The “Intimistic Journey” exhibition is composed of images which I made during my many travels on Second Life. For a few months I have been exploring the mystical and spiritual side of Second Life, which inspired me to choose this title. An inner and spiritual journey, almost meditative. It is with this state of mind that I made my recent work. The pictures were never shown before.“

I myself am not a big fan of fantasy worlds, but of course Second Life is a perfect platform to create such worlds. Nowhere Boy picked great backgrounds for his pictures. Some of them made me smile like the one where he placed his head into a bear costume, the one where he rides a cow or when he stands on a flying duck. Others were taken originally at Grauland – I think – showing big concrete blocks almost randomly placed into the nature. All of them shows him (or someone else) exploring what others have created. Nowhere understands how to process the pictures perfectly to get the spectator focused. My personal favourite picture is taken in a cow barn. It is right next to the sign “Intimistic Journey” at the corner between the two wings of the exhibition hall. The light in this picture is selected that artfully that I had to look twice, first I really saw bats, but that are the faces of the cows *winks*. Well done, Nowhere Boy.

Impressions of “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire) is in Second Life since 2007. He’s French and describes himself as romantic and old fashioned. In 2021 he first started to make images (he calls them captures) in SL, which he posted on his flickr account. He took part in several photo contests and got his first invitation to join a collective exhibition (Vision of Imago Land in July 2021), which is where Dido Haas saw his art the first time. “Intimistic Journey” at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is his first personal exhibition.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire). And thank you Nowhere Boy for your art.
As it is the May exhibition at the gallery “Intimistic Journey” shall be available until the end of this month.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and to “Intimistic Journey” by Nowhere Boy
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com
Nowhere Boy (Friiiday Nightfire) ‘s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nowhereboy

Art in Second Life 2023 (23) Zornian Women by Kian @ Nitroglobus The Annex

04 May 2023 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Dido Haas messaged me to tell me that there’s a new exhibition in May/June in the annex of her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Zornian Women”. The exhibition was opened May 2nd.

Together with the invitation I got a notecard with Dido’s description of “Zornian Women”:
“Immediately after I spotted Kian’s work @ Starborn gallery curated by Lizbeth Morningstar, I contacted him and asked if he was interested to exhibit at Nitroglobus.
I love his personal touch, his use of colors and his humor.
Inspired by the painter Anders Zorn, Kian captured the female body in light and shadows, with contrasting areas of very basic colors. Like in the paintings of the famous Swedish impressionist, the spectator’s eye is drawn to the subject when the surroundings disappear into the magical Northern lights.
I’m proud to be presenting Kian’s new work ‘Zornian Women’“

The exhibition consists of 13 pictures hung along the walls of the annex of the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery.  It is Dido Haas’ concept that the floor seems to mirror the pictures at the walls, an effect that intrigues me every time once again when I visit the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery.

Impressions of “Zornian Women” by Kian @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery / The annex (1)

Except of one picture, that is right at the entrance on the short wall and shows a floating doll in a see, all pictures show a red haired woman painted in soft colours. And most of these pictures are at a beach with a soft blue sky. Dido wrote that Kian was inspired by Anderas Zorn, hence the name of the exhibition “Zornian Women”.
Andreas Zorn (1860-1020) was a Swedish painter. He attained international success as a portrait painter and painted many celebreties, politicians and royals of his era.
Zorn was known to use a basic color palette consisting of Lead White (Flake White), Yellow Ochre, Vermilion and Ivory Black. This limited color palette shows tremendous range in terms of color mixing. A large variety of tonal ranges is possible using this palette. (source Wkipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Zorn)
I suspect that Kian also uses a limited variety of colours and that this is one reason naming the exhibition “Zornian women”, but I might be wrong. The pictures are heavily processed into impressionistic oil paintings, the contures of the female models are blurred and as the background is even more blurred, the spectator intuitively is attracted by the model only and makes up a story behind the picture.

Impressions of Zornian Women by Kian @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery / The annex (2)

Kian (random26356) is in Second Life since May 2019. His first attempt at Second life photography took place half a decade ago. He needed some time to find his own unique touch: the faded, grainy images, usually with the artist himself as the willing subject, creating a distance between the spectator and himself. The pictures often have a quirk to them with Kian as a king slaying his queen on a chess board, on summer holiday with a sex doll or dressed as the Easter bunny on a canola field.
A few years later he started exploring landscape photography, but added heavy post processing to turn the images into impressionistic oil paintings. Falling in love with the technique he wanted to take it one step further. For the Zornian Women exhibition Kian used for the first time female models as the main subject.
You can see more of Kian’s artwork at his flickr page.

Impressions of Zornian Women by Kian @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery / The annex (3)

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Zornian Women” by Kian. The exhibition poster was created by Maghda based on an image of Kian. Adwehe contributed the daisies and plastic spheres and prrovided the light art.
Thank you Kian (random26356) for your art – very intriguing. I can understand why Dido invited you to exhibit at her place.

“Zornian Women” by Kian is the May/June exhibition at the Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery.

Landmark to The Annex of Nitroglobus and to “Zornian Women” by Kian
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/166/41/1001 
Kian (random26356) flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/153345759@N03/
Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (main gallery)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

Art in Second Life 2023 (17) “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang / “Back to Back” by Dido Haas @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery

10 Apr 2023 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to see the March exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang. The offical opening will take place tonight, April 10th, at 12 PM SLT (9 PM CET).

“Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang consists of 12 pictures and 5 3D art installations/objects. “Sans titre” is French and means “Without title”. So we can’t make out a common theme – at least from the title of the exhibition.

The arrangement of the objects and pictures is as convincing as always at the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery. The mirroring floor effect is impressesing and adds to the exhibited art.

Impressions of “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

JadeYu wrote an introduction to her exhibition to provide some food of thought to the visitor about how to find a title:
“The intention of this exhibition is not to impose any invasive and/or blocking ideas but give the visitor a look, a feeling.
This work is like a vibration, a desire to touch sensitivities, to initiate thoughts and feelings in each visitor and, perhaps, to get some response.
However, I was asked to explain in words an internal magma, which is so difficult to partition into verbal language.
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.

This work is an observation from the marks of my own journey. I have no lesson to give to anyone.
JadeYu Fhang 

Impressions of “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

The papers, JadeYu is referring to, are around the sculptured woman in the center of the exhibition. The women squirm as if they want to defend themselves against the papers (see picture above). The pictures also show women, most faces, but also their full body in other pictures. Yet there’s no clear picture, the spectator has to immerse deeply into JadYu’s pictures to get more insight, to recognise the facial expressions, or to even find it. I liked in particular the woman at the window in the upper left of the snapshot above. on a first glance you might think that you look at 6 copies of one of the same picture, but every picture is different and reveals another detail of the woman’s face. Next to this picture is a picture that changes between two stati permanently and also reveals a face.

JadeYu Fhang’s portrait / Impressions of “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (3)

JadeYu Fhang writes about herself:
“Living in Paris, France, i followed the evening classes in academic drawing at Fine Arts School of Paris and was trained at the Applied Arts School of this city.

After these studies I completely stopped all artistic work. My journey is an atypical one, made of multiple experiences. I returned to artistic work when I was able to get rid of all the academic rigidity which I had been taught.
My experience on Second Life since 12 years allows me to continue and improve my work and extend it to 3D”

If you click on the exhibition poster at the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery you can get a notecard with her biography, her general approach to art and many links to JadeYu Fhang’s art, in particular to videos.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang. Thank you JadeYu for your art. Whatever I saw from you so far impressed me.
As it is the April exhibition at the gallery “Sans titre”” shall be available at least until the end of this month.

When I visited I noticed that Dido Haas has used her personal annex of the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery again for an own exhibiton named “Back to Back”. This exhibition should be available also until end of April.


To no surprise the exhibition is about “Backs”. Dido wrote:
“It was fun making these images with Mr. H. At different places, situations and times I suddenly asked him to ‘STAY’ and ‘Take off your shirt, mmm nah also your pants please’. He was patient and never complained. Therefore, my sincere thanks to Fleming for making this exhibition possible. The ‘theme’ of the exhibition which consists of 8 monochrome images is obvious: our backs nothing more, nothing less.
The large sculpture exhibited in the middle of the room is by the late Nitro Fireguard and called ipads. Other sculptures exhibited in the room are by Haveit Neox, Harry Cover (Impossibleisnotfrench), and Cherry Manga, Light art (the plastic spheres and the animated daisies) by Adwehe.“

Impressions of “Back to Back” by Dido Haas @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex

Although all pictures are not explicit, they are very erotic. They leave the room to picture the feelings of the man and the woman, the anticipation of what happens next, the excitement of love and togetherness. And the back of both genders can be very erotic, not only the bum, which is a fetish for many of us.
Thank you for your art, Dido. I love it.

Have fun visiting the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and seeing these two great exhibitions!

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and to “Sans titre” by JadeYu Fhang
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com
JadeYu Fhang on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JYuF-148115341865196/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Yann GYRO (sempiternel)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/154701358@N02/

Art in Second Life 2022 (84) Noir by Joanna Kitten @ Nitroglobus The Annex

10 Oct 2022 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to the opening of new exhibition at in the annex of her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: “Noir” by Joanna Kitten (joaannna). The exhibition will be opened officially today, Monday, October 10th, at 12 PM SLT (9 PM Central Europe Time). The music will be provided by Jewell, the particles will be added again by Venus Adored.

I saw Joanna Kitten’s work at Michiel Bechir Gallery in March 2022 (read here). Kitten is in Second Life since December 2019. She wrote about herself and her art: “Kitten was first drawn to second life photography in 2020 initially by seeing the results produced by entrants in a photography competition at the sim where she works. All her pictures are taken inworld and are only a little edited afterwards.
Her big love is landscape photography and she travels the grid in search of the perfect shot her pictures revealing her love of nature, the sea, exotic ruins as well as parasols and umbrella’s. Her pictures look to showcase the myriad ways in which light makes a picture, the gaudy autumn colours, reflections, the play of light on the water and towering cloudscapes.“

And that fits to what Dido Haas, the owner and curator of the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery wrote about Joanna Kitten. Dido met her taking pictures of landscapes and saw more of her work at Joanna Kitten’s flickr page. She liked what she saw and invited her to exhibit at her gallery. But she had a challenge for Joanna and asked her to make something different, not landscapes or nature. The result is “Noir”.

Impressions of “Noir” by Joanna Kittan @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex (1)

The exhibition consists of 8 black and white pictures, all inspired by Joanna’s love of the 1950’s Film Noir: “The images shown in this exhibition were made at various locations and Kitten would like to thank those who have assisted her in bringing these pictures to life. In particular Frau Jo Yardley whose 1920’s Berlin Project sim is the location for a number of these images. Other sims featured are Isle de Noir, Blue Orange, Temple Hof and Omerta City.“

Once again the mirroring effect of the floor, the showcased 3D objects along with the light art provided by Adwehe add to the overall impressive pictures. The exhibition room is seperated in the center by a transparent wall. You can only see a little bit of the picture that is hidden in this almost fully transparent wall. What you can see is the text on the lower right side of the wall: “Of all the Gin Joints in all the Towns in all the world, She walks into mine”

Impressions of “Noir” by Joanna Kittan @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex (2)

Joanna’s pictures impress by some minimalism which makes the spectator focus on the details. The woman in the pictures is Joanna Kitten herself in a dress fitting to the theme. When I visited the exhibition before the opening, I had the luck to meet Joanna there and she changed into the dress she was wearing for some of the presented pictures.

Impressions of “Noir” by Joanna Kittan @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex (3) – Joanna Kitten at her exhibition

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Noir” by Joanna Kitten (joaannna). Thank you Kitten for your art, and thanks also to Adwehe for the light effects.

“Noir” shall is the October/November exhibition at the Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery.

Landmark to the Annex of Nitroglobus (and to “Noir”)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/166/41/1001 
Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (main gallery)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Joanna Kitten (joaannna)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/substratum_kitten/
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

Art in Second Life (73) “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tater

15 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to the opening of another new exhibition at her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery. The new exhibtion “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tater is showcased in the annex to the gallery, that is usually used to display Dido Haas’ own artwork. The opening shall take place today, August 15th at 12 PM (9 PM Central Europe Time). At the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery the exhibition “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz (read here) is still ongoing until end of August.
I will be busy with my SL family and hence can’t attend the opening of “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tate. The opening event starts with a contemporary dance “Silent Love” performed by and specially created for this exhibition by Milena Carbone (mylena1992). Noir Tater will be the DJ and spin the tunes, Venus Adored will add enchanting particles.

I visited the exhibition on Friday, August,12h. As in the main gallery space, the floor in Dido’s annex has also the mirroring effet. “Noir Vibrations” consists of 14 pictures. The exibition space is augmented with 3D sculptures and with balls and light effects by Adwehe. All pictures have a neutral brown/grey background and show a person, who might be in most cases a male.

Noir Tater wrote about “Noir Vibrations”:
‘Choosing to be this or that is to affirm at the same time the value of what we choose, because we can never choose evil, what we choose is always good, and nothing can be good for us if it is not good for everyone. ‘
Jean Paul Sartre

My need to be free in all aspects dominates, anguishes and suffocates me.
Vibration Noir is my daily struggle to be what I am and who I am.

And Dido Haas wrote:
“Noir is an interesting figure, who struggles with gender identity. Well this is not unique and for sure not unique in SL. In Noir’s photography them presents themselve most of the time as male and also in this exhibition it’s the unique awesome looking male Noir we can admire. ”

Impressions of “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tater at Dido’s annex of the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

The pictures are intriguing. As opposed to Dido, I did not recognize a male in all pictures, some show just hands and feet and parts of a body. In many pictures the body looks like vibrating. The effect is emphasized by choosing different colours for the vibrating part of the body. Another style element, that Noir is using, are cut-outs that are placed almost like non-fitting puzzle pieces into the body. You can see the struggle and the emotions as if it isn’t clear how the pieces will fit together and what the body might look like when finished. These two artistic elements used in different strengths and combinations and make Noir’s art unique.

You can grab a notecard with Noir’s biography at the exhibition:
“My name is Francesca, formerly known in Second Life as Noah and now my name is Noir Tater …. It was through my friendship with Debora Kaz that I … started to explore photography. By using photography I found a way to express myself, so others are able to understand me better …… I am a woman going through duality about my gender. Here in SL I can show both my sides: female and male through my images with all my anguish about these feelings.”

Noir is in Second Life since 2016. You can see more of Noir’s art on Noir’s flickr acount.

Impressions of “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tater at Dido’s annex of the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tater. Thank you Noir for your art, and thanks also to Adwehe for the light effects.

“Noir Vibrations” shall stay open for about one month at the Annex of Nitroglobus Roof Gallery. For a limited time until end of August you can see the exhibitions “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz and “Noir Vibrations” by Noir Tater” within one visit.

Landmark to the Annex of Nitroglobus (and to “Noir Vinrations”)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/166/41/1001 
Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (main gallery)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Noir Tater’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/essenciall-harad/
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

Art in Second Life 2022 (72) “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz

01 Aug 2022 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to the opening of the August exhibition at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery. today, August 1st at 12 PM (9 PM Central Europe Time). I will be busy with my SL family and hence can’t attend. The exhibition is titeled “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women”, the artist is Debora Kaz (deborakaz), who is new for me. The opening event starts with a contemporary ballet “Demotions” performed by and specially created for this exhibition by Milena Carbone (mylena1992).

I visited the exhibition on Friday, July 29th. The exhibition space with it’s mirroring floor is quite full this time. The exhibition consists of 14 pictures, 6 3D sculpture installations and 1 video screen. The whole exhibition is held in dark purple and violet tones. All the objects and semitranparent frames together with the light effects set by Adwehe provide an outstanding art experience.

Debora Kaz (deborakaz) wrote about her exhibition:
“The fight against violence against women practiced by women is the theme of this exhibition. The predominance of the hot pink color in the installation represents this struggle, as well as hot pink is also the color indicating female empowerment i.e. the potency of women.
This installation also brings a mix of colors in a chaotic and disorganized way, to represent female emotions and unconscious conflicts.
Invisible cities are present in the composition of the works, giving them an imaginary physical space.
The structures and lines suggest a non-Cartesian timeline inserted in a space

‘Invisible Cities – Fighting Women’ wants to show the pain and difficulty of being a woman in a world where women historically were portrayed as objects of desire, exposed to consumption, which induced rivalry resulting in us women not having a real union to fight the violence that is directed at us..“

That sounds complex and it is complex.

Impressions of “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (1)

For me the colour purple/violet still stands for the women rights and equality movement in the outgoing 1970ies and in the 1980ies. I remember wearing a purple overall, real fashion at that time.
As I wrote above the exhibition is complex. The pictures are all made up of several layers, so that the spectator has to decide where to focus first. But looking at them for a while you recognize more and more details. Debora works with lines und geometric forms as well, thus generating urban spaces in some of her pictures. You can see the fight and struggle in many pictures. The 6 3D sculptures show one or two (fighting) women in a more red colour. The scuptures are surrounded by semi-transparent frames and pictures, thus providing unique views together with the pictures at the walls. I am a fan of this kind of art, as every picture you take is unique as well depending on light, view angle and distance.

Impressions of “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (2)

On the video screen a youtube video is showcased. It is named “fighting women”, yet for me it shows 2 dancing women with a stylised city in the background. Also have a look at the text that is shown at one of the walls next to the pictures. Debora wrote a text addressed to all women that fits to the exhibition and gives you some background information for the exhibition.

Impressions of “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz @ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (3)

Debora Kaz (deborakaz) is a digital artist from Brazil (if I figured it our corectly). She’s in Second Life since February 2012 and discovered its opportunities for creativity. She writes in the accompanying notecard: “Exactly 9 years ago I became interested in the language of wireframe, the lines, the structures and the voids they provide. When making wireframe images it is as if you can make the invisible visible. It’s as if I could reveal something that hides inside our structures, our feelings, emotions and maybe reflects on some subjects.” Just a few months ago she began to exhibit her artwork.
Debora has a flickr page, a facebook account and a youtube channel.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” by Debora Kaz. Thank you Debora for your art, and thanks also to Adwehe for the light effects and to David Silence for creating the exhibition poster for “Invisible Cities – Fighting Women”.
“Invisible Cities – Fighting Women” is the August exhibition at  Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and hence shall be open until end of August 2022.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Debora Kaz (deborakaz) flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/deborakaz
Debora Kaz (deborakaz) on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/debora.kaz
Debora Kaz (deborakaz) on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/c/deboraKaz
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

Art in Second Life 2022 (69) Refractive Index by Adwehe

23 Jul 2022 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

I visited the light installation “Refractive Index” by Adwehe that was opened July 20th at Artsville.

“Adwehe presents a stunning installation bathed in 16 different EEPs of her own creation, transitioning from one to the other very slowly, thus coloring the installation in different shades much like a dynamic 3D abstract painting.” (taken form the accompanying notecard).

Impressions of “Refractive Index” by Adwehe at Artsville (1)

Upon landing you’re asked to set your viewer to use Shared Environment, enable Advanced Lighting Model, set shadows from Sun/Moon + Projectors and to turn you sound volume up. And I can only recommend to follow the instructions as Adwehe’s installation is based on these viewer settings.
You enter the installation through a long tunnel. On it’s sides you find the wavelengths of different colours and different refractive indexes for these colours.

“In optics, the refractive index of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index may vary with wavelength. This causes white light to split into constituent colors when refracted. This is called dispersion. This effect can be observed in prisms and rainbows, and as chromatic aberration in lenses.” (source wikipedia).

Impressions of “Refractive Index” by Adwehe at Artsville (2)

“Refractive Index” consists of different elements. It seems to be a court surrounded by town houses on the first glance. But there’s also a single house on the other side. There are sculptures arranged on the court: two hands, some dancing figures, other figures and abstract objects. The scenery is very different depending on when you visit. I saw it in bright yellow, in red, in blue and in green. The ground is transparent and the the light from the ground changes as well.

Impressions of “Refractive Index” by Adwehe at Artsville (3) – 4 pictures of the same view

What seems to be rain first are particles that form words. I saw: silence, truth, post-truth, expanding, breaking-up, reflecting, responding, recording, focus, colliding and refractive. I assume there are more. Around the corner is a semie transparent wall with a quote from José Ortega y Gasset “… the stupendous reality that is language cannot be understood unless we begin by observing that speech consists above all in silences“.

Spheres of different colours pop up every once in a while. The combination of permanent changing colours, the permanent changing particles and the changing spheres make this installation so outstanding. There’s no single scene that isn’t unique. Every single picture you take is unique and not reproducible.

The sound adds to the experience. It’s not music, there are words and noises of different kind.

Impressions of “Refractive Index” by Adwehe at Artsville (4)

I took quite a lot of pictures again. The installation “Refractive Index” captivates the visitor. You can’t get enough to take different points of view. Everywhere there is something new to discover. And what was just blue now appears in red or is covered by a colored sphere or the particles become words or …. or. An intriguing great piece of art in Second Life. Thank you Adwehe.

Adwehe joined Second Life in September 2018 and describes herself in her profile as “Instable media Artist, Sound explorer, Painter and Photographer“.
What I saw so far from Adwehe was always very different as she tired out herself and the artisitic opportunities that Second Life offers: “I explore an ever changing drawing using lines, light and darkness, strong color and whatever i can find to express. Creating depth and perspective expanding the dimensions of the exposition room, mostly abstract and animating. The theme’s I always come back to are everlasting change, transformation, (in)stability, chaos, light, color, movement, slowness and (different) ways looking at the world. I mix textures from my traditional RL drawings, acrylic and oil paintings inside and outside of SL to achieve abstract and figurative patterns, moods and motions“

Impressions of “Refractive Index” by Adwehe at Artsville (5)

You can find more of Adwehe, mostly unedited landscapes and some art snaps, on her flickr page.
In the Virtuality blog you can find an interview by Violet Boa with Adwehe here.

Artsville is owned by Vally Lavender-Prodigy (Valium Lavender). Artsville was created in collaboration the Art Korner blog, owned and founded by Frank Atisso. Thank you Vally and Frank for creating Artsville and providing the space for the arts.

Landmark: ARTSVILLE – Refractive Index by Adwehe
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ValiumSL/112/12/3201
Adwehe’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/people/187796045@N03/
Virtuality Blog Interview by Violet Boa with Adwehe
https://www.virtuality.blog/interview-with-adwehe/

Art in Second Life 2022 (60) Colores Primarios by Bamboo Barnes

05 Jul 2022 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Bamboo Barnes is one of the artists I covered quite often in the blog so far. When I got the invitation from Dido Haas to see Bamboo’s newest exhibition “Colores Primarios” at Dido’s Nitroglobus Roof gallery, I went there right away and before the official opening, that took place on July 4th, 2022.

When I think of Bamboo Barnes, I immediately think of colours, of colourful pictures, of a feast of colours. And the title of her newest exhibition reflects her passion – “Colores Primarios” or “Primary Colours”. And the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery with the mirror effect transparent floor is really predestined for her artwork. Bamboo wrote a text about her exhibition “Colores Primarios”. You find the text also at ome wall of the gallery and in the accompanying notecard:

In a hot and humid room, blue at the hem of the curtains.
In a windless room, red on the floor.
In closing your eyes and seeing it disappear, yellow.

What color is the ground you cower on?
What color is the sigh your breath makes?
What color is that place where you fall asleep?

What are your basic colors?

Impressions of “Colored Primarios” by Bamboo Barnes (1)

Some of the pictures are static, others consist of several layers that are moved permanently so that the impression changes constantly. All pictures show females, mostly the faces or the upper body along with decorations, abstract geometric forms, colour layers …. something to look at and to immerse into – and to enjoy the colours.

I was in particular facinated by “Assemble 3!”. This picture is exhibited 3 times and all hand side by side. But as it is a picture (actually each picture consists already of two pictures) with a moving layer, each look different, all the time and Bamboo created a particular effect by hanging them in a row.
Once again on wing of the exhibition room is separeted with a transparent picture through which you can look through and walk through. It adds an additional 3D effect.
Very fitting to all the colours, Adwehe made the light effects again, colourful balls. And thinking of Bamboo’s description, I could ask myself: Which ball is mine?

Impressions of “Colored Primarios” by Bamboo Barnes (1)

Bamboo is in Second Life for over 15 years already, painting software & photoshop are her best friends. Bamboo had many exhibtions and appearances in the Second Life art scene and in 2018 she had her first exhibition in real life: “I create what I see but maybe you won’t, they are about people’s reality and  mind.” Bamboo’s art is a mixture of abstract forms, of people and photographs. Most pictures are colourful and it is in the eye of the beholder what we see in her pictures. I myself saw her work the first time at La Maison d’Aneli during the Holiday season 2019/2020 (read here). I also saw her exhibition “Marginal Mannerism” at DixMixGallery in April 2021 (read here), the exhibition “Meant to be” at Itakos Art Gallery last year (read here), I saw “Conjure” at FOCUS Magazine F.A.I.R Gallery in August 2021 (read here), “Mindstorm” at IMAGO Land (read here) and “Drawer” at Hannington Arts Foundation (read here). Last December I saw her exhibition “The path” at Art care gallery (read here) and this year “Metaphysics” at the Kondar Art Center, (read here). “Drawer” is still open for visitors.
And I also had a look at her flickr page.

I enjoyed my visit. “Colores Primarios” is another perfect fit for the Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, a feast of colours, a feast for the eye and great art.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Colores Primarios” by Bamboo Barnes. Thank you Bamboo Barnes for your art, even when you yourself consider not being an artist – you are! And many thanks also to Adwehe for the light effects and to David Silence for creating the exhibition poster for “Colores Primarios” by Bamboo Barnes.
“Colores Primarios” is the July exhibition at  Nitroglobus Roof Gallery and hence shall be open until end of July 2022.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/38/22/1001
Bamboo Barnes’ flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bamboobarnes/
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

Art in Second Life 2022 (58) “Body Language / The invisible woman” by Wicked Eiren

28 Jun 2022 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

Dido Haas invited me to visit “Body Language / The invisible woman” by Wicked Eiren. The exhibition is shown in the annex to the Nitroglobus Roof gallery, the space that Dido has dedicated originally to display her own art but that is also used to feature the art of other artists every once in a while.

This is the first time Wicked Eiren is showing her work at an SL Art Gallery. It is an intriguing and very emotional exhibition by Wicked who with these images asks for acknowledgement of/attention for her situation, and that of many others in the world who are suffering from Central Sensitivity Syndromes (CSSs), an umbrella term which houses a series of complex chronic diseases like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, and many more. For more information about CSSs read here)
A diseases that you can not see, but which needs to be heard, the silent scream! (taken from the accompanying notecard)

I am an invisible woman.
Not because people refuse to see me.
They know I am here.
But it’s as if my (pain) detracts from my existence.
My presence too often mistaken for absence.
I am an invisible woman.

poem by Toni Blackman

Wicked Eiren is from Wales and lives in Canada nowadays. She’s in Second Life since 2009. She wrote in the accompanying notecard, that her challenge is to make SL photography look like RL photography with the help of digital elements. And looking at the showcasted monochrome pictures of “Body Language / The invisible woman” I can confirm that she succeeded. Chapeau!
Wicked has a flickr account as well as a website.

“What was once a vibrant beautiful engaging woman who’s passion was dancing, now hides from a world which has no understanding of this disease.
People only see “you look normal on the outside” no one knows who I was before this disease took me. You cover your body and start to shield it from light, touch, sound, and movement…eventually love!
You try to join the living and put on a face for others, but the cycle repeats after you return home, the inner scream your body rebels and no one can see the pain inside, never knowing if or when you overdo. Receiving remarks as ”you look fine” or ‘it must be in her head’…the stress you battle within and the pain in your limbs.”
(Wicked Eiren’s description of the exhibition)

The 14 pictures Wicked selected for the exhibition reflect her symptons. For each picture you find a short text in the notecard that you can grab by touching the exhibition poster. But the titles alone explain it already as well. The pictures are just beautiful, an homage to the female body. Lights and shadows are set to perfection and at least for me the pictures are very erotic. Nonetheless with Wicked’s titles the spectator (me) notices another level, an emotion that’s not seen on the first glance but becomes dominating once you know it. You get very aware of the body language. And all of a sudden the pictures tell another story.

The set-up of the exhibition with the light art and the mirroring floor makes Wicked pictures even more intriguing.

Nitroglobus Roof Gallery is owned and curated by Dido Haas. Thank you, Dido for providing the space for the art and for enabling the exhibition “Body Language / The invisible  woman” by Wicked Eiren. Thank you Adwehe for the light art. And a big thank you to Wicked for her great artwork. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Nitroglobus Roof Gallery – “Dido’s part” / direct landmark to “Body Language / The invisible woman” by Wicked Eiren
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/166/41/1001
Wicked Eiren’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wicked_photogaphy/?
Wicked Eiren (Georgina Hannay)’s website
https://georgina-hannay.pixels.com/
More info about CSSs
http://www.bcwomens.ca/health-info/living-with-illness/living-with-complex-chronic-diseas
Dido Haas’ blog
https://exploringslwithdido.blogspot.com

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