On of the most consequential for me was a virtual build done for a competition at the University of Western Australia (UWA). For a year they have been sponsoring SL creators, artists, photographers, and creative types to submit their work to be judged on its merits, what ever these may be.
I was fortunate to have been invited to participate by my friend Jeri Rahja, and finally after two months passed by, I decided to enter the competition. I created a very simple build composed of red open boxes surrounding a central prim equipped with a dance pose. I titled it 'The Panopticon,' and as such, it was meant to serve as a spying gadget on the dancer located at the center of the surrounding boxes. Likewise, the dancer, could look out and see what lay beyond this centrally located pedestal, to cast his/her gaze at others.
To my great surprise, that entry was selected for the philosophical prize. What an honor to be a participant and to have my build be considered worthy of viewing.
This month marks the last of such competitions at UWA. For this last month, I submitted another build titled 'The ties that bind.' And once again, the effort put forth was worth my time as many people came out to see my work and walk away with their own conclusions about the multiple entries on display at UWA. While I recognize my submission was rather small and uncontroversial, I still received encouraging feedback leading me to believe that my work was worthwhile. Obviously, art is subjective and open to interpretation. What was profound, however, was the outpour of reflections received by those who went to see my entry.
Many thanks to those who went and supported me, and in particular to Mr. Jayjay Zinfawe, who never stopped believing in my efforts and scaffolded me to no end. What a pleasure is working with people like Jayjay and for his institution (UWA).
