The Final MindScape Artist: Sanjeewa Kumara

Sri lankan artist Sanjeewa Kumara completes the MindScape presentation on the art-sim interstellART with the title "Mental Figures". He is explaining his work as follows:
"Mental Figures have appeared in my brain during a long flight. He materialised them later with different media." 
For the MindScape-project they are shown as 3D-meshes and 2D-pictures in the temple-gallery, which Sanjeewa shares with his wife Sujeewa Kumari at interstellART => http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/167/46/1053 .
Born in 1971 in Colombo, Sanjeewa Kumara is visiting lecturer for visual art at Kelaniya University Sri Lanka. He holds a MFA from the Netherlands and had many solo and group exhibitions, inside and outside Sri Lanka.  In 2015 Sanjeewa Kumara was nominated and finalist for the prestigious 2014-2015 Sovereign Asian Art Prize. He explores and makes use of lush, sensual imagery, and how the collision between Western pop culture and the South Asian island’s post-colonial legacy impacted his imagination.

Thanks to all, who followed the exhibitions and installations of the MindScape project - this movie shows a summary of the whole =>.

Mindful Memories by MindScape Artist Sujeewa Kumari

The artist explains: "In my most recent works, comes to terms with de-realized memories derived by history, tradition and daily life reality, to formulate a compelling artistic synthesis of cultural images.

My work following a surrealist tradition to open my dreamy realistic cosmos. In the subtle elegant style combines thin lines and fluid ink washed clouds with detailed portraits, space and objects  and symbols, together they form dreamy light translucent layers and structures on the paper/canvas.

My use of color is very subtle but pointed. I  evolves a distinct mystic appearance to refer to my memories, hidden desires and a spiritual self-discovery."

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/93/170/1013 .

Sujeewa Kumari was educated at the Institute of Aesthetic Studies at the University of Kelaniya, and completed her MFA at the Dutch Art Institute in the Netherlands, where she began explored her experimental spirit as a female contemporary artist. Within her early body of works the artist expresses her point of view as a woman in Sri Lanka, focusing on her female identity in the contemporary art scene and society based on her experiences, and her research on the concept of post-colonial identity discourse. In her most recent artworks Kumari comes to terms with de-realized memories derived by history, tradition and daily life reality, to formulate a compelling artistic synthesis of cultural images. Her body of work varies from new media techniques as digital photograph collages, video installations and performance, however she is most recognised for her mixed media drawings. In every medium she is following a surrealist tradition to open her dreamy realistic cosmos to the viewer. The essence of her work is that she refuses an explanation in favor of an open strategy, not to “over-think” her compositions, as she puts it. In her subtle elegant style, Kumari combines thin lines and fluid ink washed clouds with detailed portraits, everyday objects and symbols, together they form dreamy light translucent layers and structures on the paper. Her use of color is very subtle but pointed. In favor of a magic realism, she evolves a distinct mystic appearance to refer to her memories, hidden desires and a spiritual self-discovery of historical constructed identities of “self” and “other”. The spectator is encouraged to discover these hybrid images, invoking an empathy with the presented contemplative strangers and think about one’s own place in Kumaris enchanting oeuvre. Sujeewa Kumari has held solo shows in the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.

http://www.artspacesrilanka.com/artists/sujeewa-kumari.html .

MindScape-Artist Lalie Sorbet

French artist / photographer Lalie Sorbet lives and works between South India, on the Coromandel coast and the south of France. She has this passion for creating images. She likes to explore all possibilities of expression: video, 3D, collage, painting, drawing, photography, reports. Navigating between the worlds of insects, spiders, drops of water, human or animal portraits, trees, flowers or seeds, she offers a sensitive tribute to nature.
Witnessing the beauty and diversity of our planet is a great joy for her and these days probably an obligation!

Brainstorming
This work called « Brainstorming » created for « Mindscape project » is a reflection on the capacity of our brain to incarnate matter through our body, our gaze, our hands. By drawing or painting we transpose our thoughts on paper. By sculpting we give a soul to stone or wood. In other words, we breathe consciousness into inertness. By doing this we can perhaps deliver a message or also converse with levels of consciousness still unknown.
Nature being an eternal source of inspiration and concern for me, it manifested itself naturally in this approach in a joyful way and in a stylized and imaginary form.

L'artiste / photographe française Lalie Sorbet vit et travaille entre l' Inde du Sud, sur la côte de Coromandel et le sud de la France. Elle a cette passion de créer des images. Elle aime explorer toutes les possibilités d'expression: vidéo, 3D, collage, peinture, dessin, reportages photographie. Naviguant entre les mondes d'insectes, d'araignées, de gouttes d'eau, de portraits d'humains, d'arbres, de fleurs ou de graines, elle offre un hommage sensible à la nature.
Être témoin de la beauté et de la diversité de notre planète est une grande joie pour elle et ces jours-ci probablement une obligation!

Brainstorming
Ce travail appelé " Brainstorming" créé pour le projet Mindscape est une reflexion sur la capacité de notre cerveau d'incarner la matière à travers notre corps, notre regard, nos mains. En dessinant ou peignant nous transposons nos pensées sur du papier.. En sculptant nous donnons une âme à la pierre ou au bois. En d'autres mots nous insufflons de la conscience dans de l'inerte. En faisant cela nous pouvons peut être délivrer un message ou aussi converser avec des niveaux de conscience encore inconnus. La nature étant une éternelle source d'inspiration et de préoccupation pour moi, elle s'est manifestée naturellement dans cette démarche de manière joyeuse et sous une forme stylisée et imaginaire.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/65/167/1014 :

MindScape-Artist Sheba Blitz

Sheba's contribution to MindScape explores the interface between the human brain and artificial implants and prostheses. Some of the works use actual medical x-ray scans which are incorporated into the art work using Photoshop.

Sheba Blitz is a RL and SL artist who exclusively paints Mandalas. Mandalas are ancient & mystical symbols of the universe. And the way of the "peaceful path".

Classically in the form of a circle (the Cosmos) enclosing a square (Earthbound matter). My Mandalas generally contain what is called a quarternity or a multiple of four. This squaring of the circle is a common archetypal image of wholeness and order.

Sheba was born and lives in Australia. Has studied, explored and accumulated many Art Diplomas from different art processes since 1968. But always returns to geometric, symmetrical design, painting and creating Mandalas in mixed media.

Mandalas are seen as sacred places by their very presence in the world, and remind the viewer of the immanence of sanctity in the universe and it's potential to themselves. And that there is a way to follow the "peaceful path". They are a means to discover divinity, by the realization that it resides within one's own self.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/76/182/1013 .

Hypnagogia by Jaime Poutine

MindScape-artist Jaime Poutine is, according to her own words, "a traditionally-trained mixed-media artist based in Dallas, Texas. While having been an artist for most of her life, she has been working primarily with alcohol inks since 2016.  The various properties of alcohol (as opposed to water or oil based colors) work very well to create vibrant paintings that resemble landscapes, ethereal shapes, and visions that only the mind can understand. 
In the MindScape series, Jaime has created a number of works which resemble colorful scenes and phrases that she has seen and heard during hypnagogic hallucinations, a resulting symptom of her narcolepsy.  which is a brain disorder that causes a person to be unable to suppress REM (dreaming) sleep.  These vivid dreams that can occur at the twilight stage between waking and sleeping are often very realistic and strange.  Every phrase on the pieces in this series were spoken in a voice that did not seem to be her own, but originated from somewhere else within her own mind.  Generally these voices speak kindly or violently depending on circumstances in her waking life. As you can see, the mind can be a very strange place."
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/94/179/1003 .

Lena Kiopak: Mindfulness

Lena Kiopak says about herself: "SecondLife is a beautiful, virtual world, but it is always fleeting. Places come and go...sometimes within the blink of an eye. I love to explore and discover new, exciting sims, and try to capture special moments before they eventually disappear. Some of these special moments are the perfect feeling for the MindScape project, such as Mindfulness. I have been enjoying SL for more than 8 years, but only recently started sharing my photographs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do."
And her statement concerning her contribution for MindScape is: "Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.
Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.
SL is an amazing platform for mindfulness. Because there are no physical barriers to how we feel, behave, or act, we can be our true selves in SL and explore new feelings and emotions. My SL photographs are such examples, since they portray specific events and how I was interpreting my feelings at the time.
I hope you enjoy, and embrace your own mindfulness in your SL adventures."
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/85/186/1003 .

Fluer Heartsdale: Freeing The Brain To Explore

The artist Fluer Heartsdale Chun says about herself:
"My journey into art began many years ago as a child while watching my grandmother paint. I experimented with many different mediums before falling in love with photography. Photography allows me to capture the world as I see it and show it to other.  When looking around my eye is drawn to the hidden and often overlooked common objects that surround us. With the aid macro lens I am able to capture and bring to light that which is often overlooked. My current work involves close-up photography of frozen water (ice) which when viewed by the naked eye looks clear or perhaps cloudy but generally without any color. With my macro lens I am able to take close-up photos which show that there is much more to ice than is visible to the naked eye.  In the future I will collecting water from different sources to freeze and photograph, so that I may document any difference in how they freeze and photograph."
And this is her comment about her MIndScape-pictures: "When we look at "traditional" art the brain immediately classifies and categorizes the artwork we are viewing such as "landscape, pretty colors, lots of trees" or "flowers......pink roses, yellow tulips".  All of this is done in a blink of an eye, without any conscious thought on our part.  When we look at abstract art it doesn't instantly fit into a predefined category allowing our brain to explore and search.   We will start to see things in the artwork based on memories, favorite literature, or movies.  Abstract art encourages  the viewer to slow down and give our brains the freedom to explore the depths of our memories.  That freedom  to explore our brains allows each person to form their own personal connection with the art they are viewing."

  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/60/163/1003 .