So, as you know, gentle readers, I have been spending some time in Second Life recently, and more specifically, I've recently taken in an interesting art exhibition titled, like this entry, The Garden of NPIRL Delights. (NPIRL, as you might or might not have guessed, stands for "Not Possible In Real Life".) And having done so, I thought I might share a few of the pictures I took of some of my favorite works there presented. It's not quite as good as actually being there, of course, since framing is limited and you lose both the process and the interactivity, in many cases, but here we go:
First in the list is Eshi Otawara and Death of a Phoenix, a gown of fire, and one of the first exhibits that I saw on my perambulation around the Garden, and one that immediately hooked me. I have always been rather fond of that particular piece of mythology, and the more so of this rendering.
Now, if you will permit me a moment of digression, I have something of a request to make of you, my readers, or at least those of you in the US. The person behind the avatar of Eshi Otawara, Irena M. Morris (not breaking the code of silence as to identity claims for others' Second Life avatars, I believe, since other bloggers have mentioned it already), is an immigrant to the US from Croatia, and has unfortunately fallen foul of one of the viler of the oversights in our immigration law. Namely, when you suffer one loss, in that the US citizen whom you marry dies before the green card process is complete, the lovely people at the USCIS then turn around and start proceedings to have you deported. Even if - as in her case - you have built a life here for over eight years. (You can read her full story here.)
So, if you could all take some time out of your day to write to, e-mail, or call your representative to urge them to support H. R. 6304, a bill currently in front of Congress to eliminate this travesty of justice, and even take a bit more time to urge them to consider intervening in this specific case, I for one would be mightily appreciative of it. Immigration issues being something close to my heart, on account of being an immigrant and all.
Thank you kindly. Digression ends.
Next on my list of selections is Glyph Graves, who brings us Colours of Wind - Transience. I must confess, I simply adored all the plants and creatures of thready light moving through the build as the local wind directed them.
A restful stop in the middle of the gardens, Stephen Dastardly's Rest and be Thankful, inspired - so we're told, by the Persian Paradise Gardens. Plants, fountains, and tiling all fit together into an oasis of harmony amidst the bustle of the gardens.
From the restful to the industrial, we now move on to Aloah Oh and The Particulator. This mighty engine - well, let me quote:
Buried deep in the vaults of the Palace of Performing Particles, scientists have worked day and night investigating the strange and mysterious properties of Second Life seawater. Now, after years of painstaking research, they have developed "The Particulator". An invention of unfathomable magnitude that extracts and pixelates, concentrates and consolidates, and eventually bottles this amazingly potent substance. Come and see what it can do.
And it is a splendid thing. So, indeed, are the bottles of particle effects which it manufactures, a fine collection of which I have squirreled away in the bowels of my inventory for future use...
And last, but by no means least, the gloriously steampunk Tower of Industrial Judgement, by Eladrienne Laval and Keph777 Enoch, a mighty tower of industry that climbs to storm the heavens even as it is chained to the earth. Will technology elevate us? Well, I think so, but can now be certain it'll look damn good trying. (If you look closely, you may note my very small avatar in the pan of the tower's scales, being judged. Looks like they're tipping against me, no?)
And that's but a few of the exhibits in the Garden, the ones which particularly spoke to me. Well worth a visit, I think, if you're artistically inclined, but you'll need to hurry along, now: it takes at least a couple of days to see it all in any depth, and the whole exhibition finishes on June 23rd and everything gets torn down again. Entrance point, for those Second Life-enabled or about to be, is at http://slurl.com/secondlife/the%20Dump%20Rezzable/27/143/27/.
