Gaia project at LEA 13

An old friend like Nino Vichan (we have happily worked together at the Esselle Movie Magazine for a long time) gave me the honor to take part in an amazing project called "Gaia" at LEA. A collaborative event, coordinated by Nino and Aloisio Congrejo and Tani Thor of Tanalois, involving 11 artists (the three mentioned and Betty Tureaud, Kicca Igaly, Gem Preis, Chinon Beaumont, Comet Morigi, Cayenne Avon, Daco Monday and myself), called to be inspired by the well known Lovelock-Margulis Gaia Theory about Earth's life. 

Although it deals with ecology, of course, I wanted to experiment a quite different approach than the most traditional one to that theme. In shooting or selecting my photos I tried to show the lack of balance that industrial and urban development had introduced into the "organic" model built by the Gaia theorist to explain how our planet works as a whole.
So I used a simple trick: alternating images of nature and urban or industrial landscapes in the same frame, and letting the visitors changing them by clicking on easy, opposite symbols set on the photo itself (a burning industrial bin and a tree).

So, my pictures try to show two worlds which cohabit the same planet. The reference to Gaia hypotesis are mostly in the introduction and in the last photo shown.
In the text I started by a quote from one of the first popular books that started to build an ecologist awareness in the Sixties, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, talking of th absurdity of the fight humans are doing against nature, that's a fight against themselves. I continued with another quote, taken by an impressive more recent book, Kevin Kelly's Out of Control, envisaging a future where man doesn't give up "progress" to go back to "nature" (the most naif version of ecology) but where machines (the "Done") do work according to the logic of the nature (the "Born").

This is roughly symbolized by the last picture: tall windmills taking energy from nature in a pleasant and intact natural environment.

It's just an attempt to show something we can only to glimpse, today. But it could be the way for a future where the two worlds could be again only one, "organic" whole.

I can't finish with this post without remarking how the wonderful concert by Ultraviolet at the opening contributed to enjoy the exhibits at their best.

My "Americana" photos on Bestyle magazine!

What better, for a photographer, than being requested to publish her photos on a magazine?
Agtaope Carter-Lane, editor of Bestyle magazine did it to me!

She told me she had been impressed by my first "chapter" of the series "Americana" I've posted on my Flickr and asked me copies to publish them on her great mag.

I know and love Bestyle since a very long time: MEB's SIM, Klio, is close to the old, glorious Best of Italian Style one; we collaborate with The Best since the time when Annemarie Perenti, the mall founder, allowed MEB to open a pretty store there.
The friendship between MariaElena Barbosa, the MEB designer, and Annemarie quickly has extended to myself, and I lived an exciting experience working close to the volcanic Anne's mind :) Then, Agtaope had taken the SIM and the magazine from Annemarie, who was tired of the huge work and who wanted to live a more relaxed SL. And a new close friendship had begun :)
New collaborations started up, and I saw that Agy's sweetness is paired to great managing skills: the magazine follows improving in quality and in richness, fashion market had had a big impulse by Gypset market and finally the whole SIM has been rebuilt in a minimal and classy style by Creativedream Zsun.
MEB had had the honour to be on almost all the issues of Bestyle, including with a cover story (July-August 2012), with the wonderful photos by Florence Babenco, while the MEB shop at The Best follows being one of the most important in MEB stores' web.

 (MEB cover story - Bestyle July-August 2012)

(The latest MEB ad on Bestyle magazine: September-October 2013)

Moreover, as MEB CEO, I've taken care of participating to the Bestyle market Gypset and to collaborate to Soloevane Agency events, based at Bestyle, offering room in the Klio SIM (last opportunity is in these days, the Autumn Symphony shows managed by Genevieve Kamala, Preciouss Metal and Sequoia Nightfire, other beloved friends!
By the way, on next Friday October 11th, MEB will be on that event's runway showing its new Fall Collection.

This is the past (and I'm sure, the future, too), but the wonder and the happiness of today is seeing my name and a reference to my "Americana" photos even on the new Bestyle issue's cover!

Emotions in virtual world are pretty real, and I feel them very strongly in my heart. Although I published some MEB ad's photos on that magazine yet, seeing there so many pages showing a set of photos I love very much makes of today one of my top days in SL :))
Thank you Agy, thank you Bestyle!

("Americana" is a series of photographs showing some of the best SL places inspired to American locations and themes. Chapters will be gathered in a set under this title: http://www.flickr.com/photos/melusina_parkin/sets/72157635715192173/)

Bestyle magazine is avalaible from kiosks at The Best of Italian Style SIM or in the best fashion stores.