"Make a world. Make a home. Make a space for yourself where no one can make you be something you're not..."
For the long weekend, take some time to watch this beautiful series of soothing SpaceNavigator shots of classic Second Life locations, accompanied by poetic and thoughtful reflections on life lived in the virtual world and the world of the mind. This is actually the MFA thesis of Erik Mondrian, an Interschool student at CalArts (one of the world's best arts colleges), and it was inspired, he tells me, by "[t]he work of other SL filmmakers and of SL artists in general, whether they make films, photographic images, places, the things we find there... and the performers too, like those who do live storytelling in-world.
"The project also came about in part, I suppose, because of my many years spent in virtual worlds of all kinds—the experiences I've had there and the people I've met. I realized recently that I've been 'online' for close to 25 years, and almost as long in virtual spaces... from IRC and MUDs, very early on, to worlds like The Palace, Active Worlds... Second Life, of course, for nearly 14 years. I'm inspired by all the creativity that I've witnessed in & from these different communities, and hoping to finally share more of my own, as it connects with and builds upon those same imaginary places. (And I mean 'imaginary' in the best possible way.)"
Each video contains details on the locations where he shot them, and of the people who created them. So they are also a living tribute to great SL sites, sometimes created by people who have since left. In fact, one video from the series, "stray", comes with a uniquely poignant backstory:
"I found out later that one of the creators of that location—Darth Kline—had passed away barely a week after I filmed there. Talking with his best friend and co-creator, Roxi Firanelli, has meant a lot to me, and to hear the impact that this video has had on her and the others in that community who knew Darth.
"It's sort of surreal to me that I inadvertently wound up filming in a place like that (and especially given the nature of that video and the text I used for it), only to learn so soon that my work now serves as a kind of memorial (and before the project had even been completed)... but that too is Second Life, the reality of the lives we live both in and behind the screen.
"As I mentioned in my artist statement, I'm also driven by a need to preserve some of these virtual places, to share them more widely... and so as sad as it was to hear about Darth's passing, I'm proud to have made that piece and honored/humbled that it can somehow, in its own small way, keep his name and his creative spirit going."
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