Running through until January 2015 at the Paris Metro Art Gallery is an exhibition of SL landscapes by Olympes Rhodes, featuring a collection of pictures captured from around Second Life which reflect the theme of winter in one way or another.

Some twenty-one pictures are on display, arranged on two levels within the gallery space, which has been transformed into something of an ice palace for the exhibition; the floor and walls covered in panelling covered in a ice-like effect and which are semi-transparent, so the world outside can just bee seen through the gallery’s actual windows, while the mezzanine floor of the upper level and the grand staircase leading up to it have a ghostly, translucent finish to them suggestive of them having been cut from ice.

“My job was to create an environment in the gallery that supports the works,” curator Quan Lavender says of the interior design, “And fits to the wonderful Winter scene with ice pond in front of the building.” I’d say she’s succeeded, the interior fittings rounded-off with a series of ice carvings and other accessories Quan found at the Xmas Expo, and which fit the theme perfectly.

Not all of the pictures on display may appear to be winter scenes; they don’t all have snow and frost featured within them, for example. But the theme is there to be found in each and every one, even if the presentation is subtle – such as with the pictures taken at Chouchou, which suggest feelings of winter and ice through the backdrop of the Memento Mori cathedral. In another, a little group of penguins standing on the beach provide the necessary connection.

All of the pieces have their own beauty and delicacy about them, and each one offers a unique interpretation of some very famous regions in Second Life. Their names are not given, which encourages the visitor to spend time examining each picture in greater detail to see if the location can be identified. Or at least, that was the case with this visitor!

When visiting, and if you are so minded, don’t forget that gallery owner Rose (rfb Morpork) has created a gown to match the theme of the exhibition, which can be obtained from the gift giver outside the gallery.

Related Links