Overcoming gravity (and reality) - Part I in our Gravity series

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

I am becoming as fascinated by how technology affects us as I am by what we do with it. Lately, I've been wondering why we don't much celebrate our ability to fly in Virtual Worlds, even while it may be working its way into our subconscious.


My avatar in flight over Strawberry Holiday's "On Their Journeys" installation

Most of us take avatar flight for granted, but I suspect it has had an effect on my psyche as I don't recall having any dreams about flying in the past two years, which is also the length of time that has elapsed since I logged in to my first virtual world: Second Life®. I used to dream about flying... often.

Which led me to consider, "Is virtual flight (and virtual life, even) a substitute for lucid dreaming?" Norm Bearrentine explores how the brain constructs our reality, and how understanding that can affect the way we think of ourselves and who we are. "As people learn about lucid dreaming, an interesting fact about the brain will become known: it is a virtual reality generator," he says.

He goes on to explain, "The difference between these kinds of virtual reality and physical reality is that we can step away from the video game, movie, or book, and become aware of the technology that produced the experience. It is impossible, however, to step away from the brain, which is the technology producing our experience of “physical” reality. All our experience happens in the brain, and the only difference in the varieties of experience is the kind of technology that provides the brain with it’s material – books, TV, movies, video games, or none of the above."

Someone who would have undoubtedly explored virtual worlds were he alive today, Yves Klein created the photomontage Le Saut dans le Vide taken at Rue Gentil-Bernard, Fontenay-aux-Roses, in 1960, as "a symbol of the desire to overcome gravity and thus enter into the unlimited aspects of virtuality." It has been said that this was a manifestation of Klein's will to transcend limits. [Photo by Harry Shunk/Wikipedia]

And then there is this TED Talk featuring game designer David Perry, in which he shares a video created by a remarkable student, Michael Highland, who's words are etched indelibly on my mind: "... beyond the graphics, sound, game play and emotion, it is the power to break down reality that is so fascinating and addictive to me. I know that I am losing my grip. Part of me is just waiting to let go. I know though, that no matter how amazing video games may become, or how flat the real world may seem to us, that we must stay aware of what our games are teaching us and how they leave us feeling when we finally do unplug."


Will videogames become better than life?

Which leaves me wondering: Is it because we have overcome reality that we are not all that impressed with our ability to fly in the immersive environment of the virtual realm?

See also:
+ I can fly, but meh - Part II in our Gravity in Virtual Worlds series
+ Oh, those intrepid gravity challengers - Part III in our Gravity in Virtual Worlds series
+ Climbing walls, sky dancing (in HD!), and weightless sex/showers - Part IV in our Gravity in Virtual Worlds series

Where SeaDrykes go to dance and dream - and a dream source, too

I'm not sure why, but every time I have a chat with Kazuhiro Aridian, we end up talking about dreams.

While Kazuhiro is known throughout the grid for creating flawless and over-the-top creature avatars, I'm happy to report that Kaz is now exploring the realm of sculpture.


Click to see large

Beginning with the delicate and leafy aquatic Seadrkye I shared with you one month ago, Kaz has merged the exquisitely sculpted and textured avatars with art, to much success. You can see this sculpture for a very limited time by teleporting directly from here, but best go soon!


"The Seadrykes dance around a glowing orb of light, mirroring each other as the strange glow emits bubbles around them"

It was this discovery that prompted yet another conversation that took us into now familiar territory.

Can we hope to see more of your creatures incorporated into large-scale sculptures? And do you daydream about these creatures?

Kazuhiro Aridian: Heck yes, to both! Sadly, they're not part of my nightly dreamings, but they certainly make up much of my daydreaming. Also, I'm going to be making full colour watercolour and ink illustrations for each creature and selling prints alongside the creatures, when I get them done : D



Kazuhiro Aridian: I have a separate dreamscape... it is an exaggeration of reality, and where I lived as a kid. My road becomes a placid river... Two small hills at the dead end of my road become large sand dunes, and beyond the dunes is a large river, which is a creek in Real Life, and beneath it lays the skeleton of a small airplane.

You are serious? This is your night dreamscape?

Kazuhiro Aridian: It sort of propells my daydreams, but I don't get to see these creatures within my childhood dreamscape, though there is a dinosaur reserve if you follow the river far enough...

This discussion got me to thinking about the sources of our dreams, and how much they inspire content creation. A little Googling later, I discovered this unusual and fascinating website: The World Dream Bank. Get thee dreaming, creators!

You can own this sculpture or any of Kazuhiro's primordial beasts by stopping by here.

Ashanti LeShelle's photography articulates her dreams and jump-starts our imagination

Berliner Ashanti LeShelle is polite and reserved in her interactions with others, but her photography tells us so much more.


The FlyBy by Ashanti

Using freeware to post-process her photographs and Second Life as her platform, Ashanti at once loses her self containment and pierces our dazed reality, inviting us to explore her mind and her dreams in ways that surely would have delighted André Breton.


Ashanti dangles from Light Waves' sculpty Ballerina's fingers in "Aversion"

Increasingly, Second Lifers are using the metaverse as a tool for self-discovery and projection of their inner world, with new dimensions of depth. In this regard, Ashanti is leading the pack.