Exclusive: Art: Sandra joran and Robert Maddox-Harle

---Sandra Joran and Robert Maddox-Harle

An Enchanted Digital World

I walked through a magical garden, cobble-stone path beneath my feet, strange birds chirping and flying through the flowering plants which led me towards a building of stone and light. Bindu Gallery bid me - Enter.

I stood in amazement as sculptures revolved and pulsated, I noticed a 3D spherical mandala near the stairs, I approached I stepped inside and sat on a red velvet cushion. I was looking out through the iridescent geometric light patterns of the mandala. An indescribable mystical experience followed as the mandala energy flowed through me.

No, I had not died! No, I was not under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs! I had logged onto Second Life and visited a friend's Virtual Gallery Exhibition. 

Second Life (SL) is a virtual (digital) 3D computer-based world – it is not a game, not a social media app., but a digital version of real life (RL). Like the fragrance of coffee brewing, it is a difficult thing to describe, immersion and participation is the best way to understand SL. As with most things the press and television media has also distorted and misrepresented SL with claims of ruined lives, sexual abduction, huge costs, death and so on. Untrue! 

Any individual adult, anywhere in the world may join the SL community for free, create their own avatar – the entity you live, work and function as in SL – then create art, build astonishing architecture, create bizarre fashion or fly on a magic carpet. Flying or teleportation is the standard way to move around the various regions (Sims) of SL. If you wish to buy your own land you must become a premium member which costs approximately $99 USD per year, this returns a stipend paid to you of 300 linden dollars a week. If you do not like flying you may use some of your lindens to buy a car and drive around or catch a train!

Why Lindens? Philip Linden (Rosedale) was the creator and brainchild of SL. He attended the Burning Man event in the desert of Nevada USA many years ago, this enormously influenced the already nascent digital, virtual version of SL. Linden Labs own SL but the actual community is created by the residents with very few rules or regulations. So, the basic currency of trading is called a Linden. SL is not the only virtual 3D community some others are; Blue Mars; InWorldz; OS Grid; Twinity and Onverse.

That is enough basic information to orientate those not familiar with SL. 

As with most digital software and applications things evolve and become more sophisticated and mostly user friendly. Back before the www who could have ever imagined such a sophisticated and virtually-real entity as SL?

The images below are from some of Sandra’s SL exhibitions, although she specialises in painting mandalas in RL, she also creates magical enchanting artworks within SL itself. 

Enjoy!

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Setu, January 2025