Alexia Cournoyer, owner of The Art Thing has an interesting exhibit ready for SL8B which involves magic, scripting, building and art! I’ve been speaking to Alexia through the time she has been bringing this exhibit alive, as well as talking to Alexia’s scripting assistant, Sorvats Kappa of SGK scripts. The theme of SL8B is the magic of Second Life, so my questions during the interview did touch upon that magic and whether it exists. Now being a Drow Wizard I don’t need any excuse to dress up, but for this interview with the charming Alexia I decided human form and Wizard garb was the best bet, so I hid my face under my wizard’s hat and got on with the interview.
Alexia’s theme is quite clearly inspired by Alice Through The Looking Glass, hence the name! However the garden also been populated by some of Alexia’s other works of art, so when you do go visit take your time to look around the entire build.
I started with the basics by asking Alexia how long she had been a Second Life resident: “1751 days – 6 weeks short of 5 years, and I still remember my first day like it was yesterday” replied Alexia, did that first day feel magic I asked: “No but it was setting the scene, I’ve only glimpsed the magic a couple of times down those years but it’s mighty powerful stuff, I see the magic as being behind a door and very rarely will you find the right key to open it, but when you do, it’s breathtaking.”
The process of how the build came to light involved not just a demonstration of Alexia’s art, but also scripting, where Alexia was assisted by Sorvats Kappa, so I asked about Sorvats work: “My main scripting support was from Sorvats Kappa from SGK Scripts, who has been generous with his time in creating the two main script sets used in the build.”
SL8B requires a lot of time and effort from exhibitors, so I asked Alexia how she had coped with the requirements and timelines, “Most years I haven’t even managed to apply because I couldn’t even think of something coherent to offer within the theme. This year the mirror idea pretty well jumped out at me but the timelines were very tight and what I wanted to do turned out not to be technically possible. I had to make a lot of compromises that I wish I didn’t have to make. Next year if I apply I don’t care what the theme is – I’ll make a tightrope and people can walk across it as that sums up the experience of preparing for this.”
What do you hope people find through the looking glass? I asked Alexia, “The build itself is the equivalent of a fairground ride, as all the exhibits are here but I hope that everyone who spends any time in Second Life at least gets a glimpse of the magic that lies behind the mundane.”
As the theme this year is of the Magic of Second Life, I asked Alexia how her build encapsulates the magic of Second Life: “It doesn’t. It’s an actualisation of the process that I go through to perceive the magic.”
Do you perceive the magic through the looking glass, I asked, “Whenever you look beyond the surface of anything there’s always a chance to glimpse it, however, the rabbit hole and the looking glass are part of the second life cultural story now, because the parallels are apparent to most. I’m just taking that theme and working with it, this is my personal experience of the magic, rather than the abstract of most exhibits.”
Alexia’s build, when SL8B is open to the public will be found here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL8B%20Astonish/24/217/22
To see Alexia’s other work inworld, visit her display at The Art Thing: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Norf%20Haven/39/238/40 (please note this is an adult location).