The Sad Fish : Nitro Fireguard Passes (7th November)

Saturday, 7 November at 2.10 pm Paris time my beloved Partner Nitro Fireguard passed away.Although I knew this was inevitable, it still was a shock. After all nobody wants to loose a loved one. The only redeeming thought is Nitro doesn't have to suffer these horrible pains anymore. For those who don't know: after almost a year of fighting, the cancer won and Nitro had to give up.
Dear Nitro you will always be in my heart.I thank you for the four awesome years we shared in Second Life as partners, in which we had lots of fun and joy working together to make Nitroglobus the gallery it is nowadays. We both had our own part in this: you Nitro, the artist who 'fitted' the main hall of our gallery for each exhibition with matching new mesh sculptures. I the curator, marketeer and host at our opening parties.   We almost always had the same taste which was soo cool to experience time after time.  
We made many friends among the artists exhibiting in our main hall as well as the guests who visited the gallery and our Sunday Cafe. Yes, our Second Life together was filled with lots of love for each other, our gallery and for the arts in general.
We communicated every day: hours of intense conversations about many many topics here in Second Life but also during the day in WhatsApp. We even met in Real Life Paris two times.  I am so glad we all met: you, me and both our RL partners. 
I will miss you terribly sweetie because YOU are/were my Second Life.Je t'aime mon cheriGros bisous and may you rest in peace

Dido

Joa sent me a song which expresses my present  feelings very well:
https://youtu.be/jOIAi2XwuWo

(The above is being distributed to all who visit the Nitroglobus at this time)

I heard this news via Bryn Oh's Immersivia on Wednesday 11th so this is a retrospective entry that I am writing in regard.

My memory is as together as a broken colander but I do not believe that Nitro Fireguard and I have ever met or exchanged words; or if we have then it would have only been in passing at some art exhibition opening or other in the Nitroglobus Gallery; run by the pair of Dido and Nitro.

Whilst I do not hold a memory of the man, I am acquainted with some of his art and consider myself fortunate to have known of him in this way. This entry is about sharing with you, gentle reader, a little of his art.

S.V and myself curate a motley collection of art things that we love and have a small gallery for no-one other than ourselves and close friends (at this point in time)

I remember the first time S.V put out a piece by Nitro and thinking it had such presence and depth of feeling which brings to mind again what Gormley had said about the power of sculpture. Each of the pieces we have on the homestead (Isle of Fatima- IOF) all own their places and in such a way that it is hard for me now to think of the Isle without them and vice versa... just as it saddens me to think of the world without the creative spirit of Nitro himself.

In a universe of universes, this was a man who had a unique voice that he shared through these slow animating giant forms; Pairs that vibrated with symbiotic tension as they grappled each other and floated in impossible space.

Changing Space Time Origin by Nitro Fireguard
Set to Deep Love by Mandalay (Nitin Sawhney Remix)

This was my first go at making a cliplet for the purpose of this tribute.

I highly recommend visiting the Nitroglobus Gallery if you get the chance; There you will encounter and experience these works for yourself.

Prior to making these two clips ; have had near zilch experience in making or producing machinima so do forgive its quality as I was learning on the fly. What I do hope comes across, is sentiment and suitable kudos for someone I shall no less miss. Through his art, I have found Nitro to be great, witty, human... He is celebrated, wonderful and ultimately -  unforgettable.

Don't let me go by Nitro Fireguard

Set to Ágúst by Ólafur Arnalds

This is probably my favourite piece and when I first set eyes on it I was quite quite moved.
This is also my second piece of Machinima and I hope it will give you a sense of the work from my POV.

ad perpetuam memoriam

The Art Fish : Sparkling lights and champagne seas

Lately I've been summer dreaming with:

Beach Dream I - ビーチの夢 1.

  and

Beach Dream II - ビーチの夢 2.

I often complete my image making in Photoshop. It's essentially play for me and I like to experiment with creating effects on my original screen captures as part of my artistic expression.

I'm on Photoshop CC2014 currently and every version adds to my learning curve.

I've been trying out ways to fix the idea of a view point defining that third space ie. as seen from the narrative point of view; wanting to convey a sense of the frame itself through experiments in depth of field.

Feesh Wallpaper

Kingyo 金魚

Production Notes :

For Beach Dream I & II 

Monso - My Hair - Minju (Brown)

ieQED chanel. pearl. Harness + Panties (Black)

All the above is available at Shiny Shabby's current round.

Additionally

Dead Dolls  - Juliet Bra (Black) fits Maitreya Lara 

Props

{anc} I'm Planet - Fish Puddle + Fish School in Pastel and Blue

{anc} Keybirds Y + R

tres blah - Bon Voyage - Vintage Camera

We're closed - Lounge Pillow Blue Stripe (also for pose)

Body

Genesis Mesh Head (Julia in Milk - Sleep)

+ Maitreya Lara (Full)

For Kingyo and Feesh Wallpaper

From Calico Hair for  Fair Play (Magli)

Also :

The Art Fish : Antony Gormley

Watched a really good documentary the night before on this artist and wanted to write a few things down about it for my own memory's sake. I find his work very compelling and the film quite inspiring as it spans a lifetimes' exploration on the idea of how a body and a body's sentience occupies a space. Gormley has in his latest works, moved into an abstraction of this interpretation from the figurative object; to the figurative translated into a space that makes the occupier the object.

The documentary brought up some really great quotables that have stuck in my mind with regards to context of work and how one informs the other. A segment (≈ 37:30) sees Gormley installing a new work on Lundy island for the Landmark Trust, where he says quite poignantly

" This bit of headlands has been here hundreds of thousands of years and now it's got a foreign object on it..."
" It's got to have that sense of it being, in a way, an irritation - but then at the same time , it's got to own its place" 

and most notably :

"... The test of a well sited work is, during the time that it's there you can't think of the place without the object or the object without the place"

The world of SL is on one level a sculptural landscape in which everything that exists within its "space" is hewn from the mathematics of 1's and 0's and yet its physicality is only "felt" in a visual way. For me, this is where the idea of how this visual space may in theory be ported into tactile reality via printing, is an intriguing and worthy notation for further exploration.

What is virtual also sits in that uncomfortable space of ephemerality. I think as humans we take comfort in constants and mark making that it is hard to grapple with the transient. In this, the world of words, images and digitized information is the strange frontier; yet how human is it to still be asking the same questions today that still echo those questions asked before...

New Scientist (What is reality)

Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)

The Big Fish : Art In Hats 2015

For Art In Hats. I've designed 3 exclusive noggin decorators. Get yours now!

I do apologise for my absenteeism.
The more interesting news is not the why I left but the now I'm back!

What I'm currently doing :
I'm participating in Art in Hats (4th till 14th November) and have created the above three pieces as event exclusives for which a portion of the proceeds shall go straight into the coffers of the American Diabetes Association.
You can read more information about this on Art In Hats - 2015

I think with blogs and flickr and life in general , you experiment as you figure things out for yourself. What you want to do, what you don't want to do and so on. I've been having an interesting year that's been in pursuit of other adventures outside of the realm of the virtual aesthetic and as serendipity would have it - find myself currently tangled with an other whose passion for art (amongst other things) inspires me to examine my own.

I'd like to take this opportunity too to thank both Lyrical B!zarre and Shortcake Sugarplum. These ladies have always faithfully sent their creations my way - despite my long absence from blogging.
I'm full of admiration for them as their own creative spirit seems tireless! Lyrical is also participating in the same event with the following offerings :

Hat Ballet
(featuring Danette Hat by Lyrical B!zarre)

Taste The Rainbow
(featuring Adele Hat by Lyrical B!zarre as well as Butterfly eyes by no.7)

Moodlight Sonatta
(featuring Trey Dress and Chloe Hat both by Lyrical B!zarre)

On a side note , all the above have been taken with my donning a completely mesh avatar which is all the rage in the virtual photography world because of how 'materials' and advanced lighting works in SL. (Will broach more on this subject at a later date)

Meanwhile 

Thank you for reading.

The Big Fish : She Finally Returns!

Been a long hot summer...

Which reminds me of that Gold Frapp Song (link coming up later). I'm back! and finally able to settle down to doing some blogging beginning with the things you see in this recent image I created. I love most things fishy on SL and with no exception are these amazing heels from the fertile imagination of Shaleene Kenin from Pure Poison. This creator is breathtaking with just the sheer range of products and scope of their creations!

These Pirana Shoes are available at an event called The Showroom
In this image :
Aphorism Brazilian Bikini 1 (Top + Bottom in S)
Azoury* Bottled Message. 
Pure Poison** - Pirana Sandals (Black) for Slink (flat. med. and high)
* This item part of event -Every month on the 24th, 1 new exclusive item %50 off sale for 24 hours @ Azoury Main Store.
** This item is part of The Showroom (a new one on me so there'll be more on my blog)
Au Reste :
Arcade Goodies (Chic Fish Mango + Miamai Floaty Bear)

Still Away. Back 15th July.

Just an update - I'm still out of the country but will be back from the 15th of July. Not too long now!

The Travelfish : Away...

I'll be away again from the 26th of this month till July.