I received a notice about a new exhibition by WuWai Chun which opened on Sunday August 3rd at the Rose Theatre & Art Gallery. I didn’t make it to the opening, sadly, due to other commitments, but managed to pop along as soon as time allowed.

The exhibition is in support of Feed A Smile, a project run by Live and Learn in Kenya (LLK), to provide nutritious warm lunches for over 400 children every day, paid for entirely from donations to the project (see my article on Feed A Smile written to accompany Draxtor’s excellent World Makers video on the work).

Called Somewhere in Second Life, the display features selected images from WuWai’s travels across Second Life, which also appear in her Flickr photostream of the same name and which she describes as a personal destination guide. However, the pictures on display are not simply snapshots of in-world locations.

WuWai’s passion is to turn her pictures into paintings. Having taught herself the sometimes arcane art of post-processing, she labours over her scenic snapshots to give them the look and texture of watercolour or oil paintings. The results are images that are quite stunning in appearance, with many of them having an ethereal look to them which quite captivates the eye, drawing you into it.

These are pictures which really do immerse you in the sensation of visiting a gallery and slowly walking through the halls. There are no Constables or Browns or Balmers among the pictures hanging on the walls between WuWai’s pictures but frankly, had I come across one or two, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised,her work is that evocative.

As the exhibition is in support of Feed A Smile, the pictures are available to buy – simply right-click on any that take your fancy.

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