
Rory Torrance ~ The Space Between the World
It had been about three years since I’d ventured into open sim. Recently I became aware of a project that has been at least a year and a half in the making, 1 Biennale, which can be visited in Metropolis Metaversum. Many of the artists involved are avatars whom I’ve heard of, in Second Life.

Rory Torrance
At first, I simply wanted to visit once, to see if I could find it. At some point I began to get drawn into wanting to share my experience of it.

Rory Torrance
The project seems very complex to me, and the scope of it is more than I can cover in this one blog post. The 1 Biennale website is confusing and I don’t understand some of the language being used. Many of the pages are not seen online; rather are accessed by clicking on prims, on location in Metropolis.

Rory Torrance ~ Pie in the Sky
I am willing to see how I can present this in a series; by no stretch of the imagination am I a virtual world, art scene insider. Elle Thorkveld, one of the artists, has volunteered to help me with info for blogging, and I’ve been told that Juliette SurrealDreaming may be available to answer my questions when she’s online.

Rory Torrance
The installation by Rory Torrance is dynamic, with moving pieces.
I intend to share how I got back into Metropolis after about 3 years away, as well as help guide in the direction of setting up a Metropolis Metaversum account, shown below. Avatars from Osgrid and other opensims can visit 1 Biennale.

Rory Torrance
But first, there is a field trip tomorrow, October 4, at 1:00 pm SLT. This is the second field trip, I believe, the first having been the grand opening on Thursday, September 27.

Rory Torrance
“Each Thursday through October, Art Blue will be premiering one to two landsets. Both he and Juliette will be in attendance, as well as hopefully the specific builders/artists of what is being shown, to share about the landset in a walk about in opensims at Metropolis Grid: Visit 1Biennale.”

Elle Thorkveld ~ Fog in the Machine
Basically, nine artists made cubes, which contain their art, and are shown in pavilions. They are in something called oar files which can be rezzed, and then taken back into inventory. Everything is not rezzed out, all at the same time.

Elle Thorkveld
The “landsets” to be premiered tomorrow are Elle Thorkveld’s Fog in the Machine and The Space Between the World by Rory Torrance. (I will be able to see the landsets of the artists shown last Thursday, by requesting someone with access to the oar files to show me.) My plan is to have at least a few photos of each artist’s work. These landsets have been available for visiting this week.

Elle Thorkveld
The installation by Elle Thorkveld is dynamic, with flashing lights and moving pieces. It includes integration poseballs. Many of us enjoy photographing our avatars, and I did so with my Pearl Grey @ Metropolis avatar, which you can see in some of the photos.

Elle Thorkveld
“INSTRUCTIONS TO TAKE THE FIELD TRIP
You can participate in one of two ways:
1. If you can’t attend the actual field trip held in Metropolis Metaversum, you are welcome to join us up in Obscure Hall here at Surreal Gallery for a Screen Share of the event. Same date / same time.” That’s 1:00 pm SLT. Obscure Hall is #9 in the teleport options.

Elle Thorkveld
Here are instructions from a note card that was shared. (Some of it is different from my experience, which I will write about later.)
“OR
2. If you are interested in attending the actual Grand Opening in Metropolis Metaversum, here is the hyperjump to the location:
If you have NEVER been to Metropolis or another open simulator grid, follow these simple directions and we look forward to seeing you there! PLEASE DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO THIS. Give yourself a few days incase you need Admin help.
Step 1 – Create your free Metro Avatar Go to: https://hypergrid.org/metropolis/metro_rg_en.php
or if you want an Art Blue Eye Avatar go here to register: http://sb3.hypergrid.net
And then follow the directions just like you did for Second Life. You are advised to use a different password than the one you use in Second Life.
Step 2 – Firestorm Viewer You will need to be sure you have the Firestorm Viewer that is also for opensims. Simply update your viewer if need be.
Open Preferences > Opensim > Grid Manager – under Manage Grids choose “Metropolis Metaversum” – make note of the login URI: hypergrid.org:8002
Step 3 – First Time Login – Type your NEW Metropolis avatar name like this example: Juliette SurrealDreaming @ Metropolis Metaversum – Make sure Grid is set to: Metropolis Metaversum – Location will be normal “Home”
Step 4 – Teleporting to location When you login, you will be at the Metropolis Metaversum Welcome Area, now you will hyperjump to the location for the 1Biennale Grand Opening.
– Go to the WORLD tab at top of screen – Open WORLD MAP – In the FIND area, type: Visit 1Biennale and click Find – Once the map changes and it is listed in the box, simply click TELEPORT”

Elle Thorkveld
This project looks to have been an enormous amount of work, and I’m not complaining that it appears to not be visitor-friendly. It seems to be more about presentation for the real world and long-term preservation of virtual 3D art. There is a purchasable book involved, and a grand opening on Santorini, November 1st.

Elle Thorkveld
Again, more details and lists of names can be found on the 1Biennale website. I will organize my posts here as I’m able.
edit ~ Lampithaler is included in this landset tour; there’s more info coming soon.