I got an invitation for the opening of a new gallery in the skies above Genova City – GenovArt Glass Gallery. Actually there are two galleries. The Glass Gallery and the B&W Gallery, which is still under contruction. Both exhibition spaces are humongous. The exhibtion at the Glass Gallery feature of the art of Lita Menges, Paola Mills, Fiona Saiman and Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau), four female artists from Italy.
The Glass Gallery has two floors. On the ground floor is the exhibition of Lita Menges and Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau), on the 2nd floor is the exhibition of Paola Mills and Fiona Saiman.
Lita Menges’ photos are characterized by dark tones and surreal scenarios. Lita is in Second Life since 2007 and was immediately by the magical world and creative potential of this virtual world.
Lita writes: “For the vast majority of people SL is a place where they can express segments of themselves that most likely would not find space in RL. Second Life is a “container” in which we are what we would like to be in rl, or just a part of it. You can find a thousand ways to express that part of yourself that you decide to bring in sl. I chose to take pictures. For me, taking pictures on sl represents a phalanx, a natural extension of me, the most natural way to communicate what I feel.”
Lita Menges has a flickr account and a blog.
Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) is in Second Life since 2009. She’s passionate about photography in RL and uses Secod Life to experiment and to try out new things. She writes: “Trying to convey the magic I see. A world of maximum expressive freedom where my mind frees itself from being reality by entering into a perennial game of inventions….. Magda has fun, she plays and createsa wonderful world that makes the impossible possible.“
I’ve seen Maddy’s art the first time back in 2017 at Enchanted Art where her exhibition “Maddy 2017” was showcased (read here) Further on I saw Maddy’s work at La Maison d’Aneli in 2018, 2019 and 2020 (read here, here and here).
You can see more of her art at her flickr page.
Paola Mills joined Second Life in 2007. For her it became a nice of creativity.
Paola writes about her work: “I am not a professional photographer in RL, but I like to take pictures when I see something I like, a person or a situation, which is why I always carry a small camera in my bag. Second Life allowed me to develop, without the need for powerful means, my emotionality, freezing the moment of a feeling in simple shots that stop for a moment of my time.
I think I am an end user of Second Life by exploiting the ability of creators who know how to give reality to the bodies of the avatars and who know how to give movement to the avatar with the use of animations.
My work combines these two aspects, the care of the avatar as a human body, and the study of body language.“
Fiona Saiman arrived in Second Life back in 2006 and immediately got seduced by the possibility of taking photos: “I started experimenting and learning snapshot effects, but I only used the tools SL was offering and could create thrilling images. But discovering Wireframes (Control + shift + R) it has been my greatest passion; a type of photo a little different from the usual, the simplicity of using a keyboard shortcut to get the magic of a spider web hidden behind everything and everyone inworld.
Playing around with keyboard shortcuts to take things off or add elements to make those charming lines stand out in my view.“
The exhibition at the Glass Gallery is about “Windows… the eyes of the world on us, observe or be observed by other? Hiding or getting naked“.
“This time I decided to propose myself in a different way. After all, experimenting is always an enrichment of one’s being and then, loving the challenges, this time I put my face and even my body on it. Why is this woman always and often near the window? you would ask yourself. The window is a metaphor of the gaze, of the point of view that you have on the world and that the world has on us. To watch or to be seen? This is the dilemma.”
Fiona Saiman has a flickr account and a blog.
I enjoyed my first visit to the Glass Gallery. Many thanks to the initiators of this gallery. And many thanks to the 4 participating Italian artists!
Landmark to Glass Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nabru%20City/57/117/2053
Lita Menges flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/litamenges/
Lita Menges blog:
https://tumbletherabbithole.blogspot.com/
Fiona Saiman’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/161929461@N04/
Fiona Saiman’s blog
https://straylife.altervista.org
Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdyne/
Diomita Maurer’s Blog 