Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade exhibit at Holly Kai Art Garden: Shorelines and Solitudes

As a gallery owner I get asked sometimes about how taking snapshots in Second Life is supposed to be same as "real photography". Well yes you can just go and take a picture of something someone else made and not do anything to it, not have any new angle to the subject matter, not have anything to say about it, and then call it yours, and that can feel a bit hollow to the viewer. But you can also produce images such as those by Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade, who tell a story with every shot, every piece. So if you get asked this question, I recommend you send the person their way.

Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade have a shared exhibit called "Shorelines and Solitudes" at Holly Kai Art Garden, curated by Inara Pey, until 5th of April, 2016. Side by side, their artworks are set up in two terraces of the garden, complimenting and contradicting each other, as was so well said in the gallery's blog post.

Derry McMahon took this exhibit as a chance to enjoy her favorite views by the water, in Second Life, while her real life surroundings were made uninviting by a series of bad weather events. "Down the Shore Everything’s All Right" she quotes the song Jersey Girl by Bruce Springsteen. And her images transport you with her to a world of fresh air, open skies and the wonderful feeling of freedom.

Bear Silvershade shares with us his imaginations of the difference between solitude and loneliness. Being alone does not necessarily mean you feel lonely. Sometimes some time alone is needed. You can step outside of your daily routine and let your mind work on the intricacies of the universe, and depths of your own being. While Bear quotes Jean-Paul Sartre: ‘If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company’, and Derry thinks of the song by Springsteen, I feel like they are both talking about a very similar need for some air. Fresh thoughts, fresh viewpoint. Clear you mind and your schedule. Enjoy the beauty of the world around you.

You can see their work also at their own galleries in Heron Shire, and in their Galleria Kakku booths.