Well-known SL and RL photographer, Loquacia Loon will have our gallery filled with select pieces for opening day, 05 January 2012. Loquacia’s work has been shown around SecondLife, at various galleries and special events. A stunning collection of her nature photography was most recently shown at the Chilbo Museum Center Complex. The photo here is entitled The Eagle, and it was worth the time Loquacia spent in the cold snow, just waiting to capture the moment.

Loquacia is an avid supporter of art in SecondLife and a great encourager of individual artists. She participates in Burning Man as an active member of that community and supports their work with her own efforts. Her avatar was born in July 2007 and didn’t really find true purpose in her Second Life existence until she discovered that photography is one of the best ways to enjoy and participate in the creativity here. 

She started posting pictures to Koinup (www.koinup.com) as a way of recording her everyday adventures, but soon discovered that there were people making amazing art from their in-world photographs, and the hunger to make strong images of her own was created.  Many of the photographers she most admires have become friends and she thanks them for their ongoing encouragement and feedback.

Loquacia started taking landscape pictures when she joined the Wandering Photographers group led by Elspeth Writer, and became fascinated by the (recreated!) natural world, especially of trees and flowers – both those native to Second Life and those introduced by settlers. She is also fascinated by windows – the way that images are framed, and refracted or transformed by layers of glass – and is working on a project to take photos from windows across Second Life.

Loquacia’s real life counterpart is not an artist (but is amazed and grateful to have this opportunity to connect with this neglected part of herself)  but works with words as a creative writing teacher, teacher-trainer,  writer and literary blogger : http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com. In 2011 she became a small-press publisher with a first collection of writings, Readings From Readings from the literary event she organises : (http://www.amazon.com/Readings-New-Malaysian-Writing/dp/9671029205). She is British, but has lived in Malaysia for the past 27 years (yeah, she’s a little older than her glam avi!) and hopes to encourage more of Malaysia’s arts community into Second Life.

We are happy that Loquacia is our first artist to display work here. She’s happy to chat about SL photography or RL writing, so if you see her at Ce Soir, say hello!