Artist Whose Second Life Works Dramatized Her Real Life Battle With Cancer Tragically Succumbs

Debbie Berman, a woman known in Second Life as Sabrinaa Nightfire, has tragically died of breast cancer at the age of 51. There are multiple tributes to her throughout the Second Life blogosphere:

• Farewell, Sabrinaa Nightfire by Leland Lee
• Ekphrasis: Sabrinaa Nightfire by Rowan Derryth
• Death of Sabrinaa Nightfire by Apollo Manga
• In Honour of Sabrinaa Nightfire by Claus Uriza

Spanish art curator Cristina García-Lasuén, known as Aino Baar in Second Life, has an ongoing tribute to her on her Facebook page. SL artist Bryn Oh reports that Debbie's family plans to hold a memorial for her in both worlds. But perhaps the best tribute to Sabrinaa Nightfire's battle with cancer is by Sabrinaa herself, a metaverse sculpture she aptly called Stage 4:

Update, 9:44pm: Xah Lee made a profound Comment on this news: "I know quite a few people in SL who died, some are friends. It seems there are disproportionally large number of terminal ill people in SL, or suffering from some medical problems, or otherwise very screwed up in life. not surprising either. True to logic, Second Life is the place where we escape to."

Comments

[xah lee]

i know quite a few people in sl who died, some are friends.

it seems there are disproportionally large number of terminal ill people in sl, or suffering from some medical problems, or otherwise very screwed up in life.

not surprising either. True to logic, sl is the place where we escape to.

[Hamlet Au]

Astute, Xah!

[Scarp Godenot]

First of all Let me say that I knew Sabrinaa Nightfire and found her to be delightful and very committed to the virtual art world. It is very tragic that she is lost to us.

Regarding the topic of death and the virtual world, I think a lot of younger people who are in SL are not exposed to death as much as middle aged or older people, so they see death as rare and unusual.

Some may even wish to attribute people passing away who they have heard of in SL to some aberrant cause, such as a greater proportion of sick people being there.

The reason it seems SEEMS that there is a lot of death in SL is because there are a LOT of mddle aged and older people there and death is more prevalent in that age group than in people in their twenties and thirties.

It is as simple as that.

I like the fact that people in their forties and up can interact as social equals with those in their twenties and thirties. It is unique, I think. SL cuts down that barrier of cultural prejudice that is out there with regards to age.

The fact that many people don't know the age of those who they interact with in SL is a great thing in my opinion. It is one of the serious strengths of the virtual world. The same can be said regarding race, personal RL appearance and economic class.

My two cents worth....

[Foneco Zuzu]

More like a million dollar worth, Scarp as you nailed right on one of the things that makes Sl so good.