Funky Junk

Now open at LEA22, designed by Carmsie Melodie, is Funky Junk, a wild mish-mash of colorful debris with a strong dose of playfulness. As the creator describes it, Funky Junk "is a whimsical, post-apocalyptic, mini-world where trash and junk are truly valued — rust is the new black here! Everything at Funky Junk — including the inhabitants — are made of, or contain, cast-offs of all shapes, sizes and types. Along with unique appearances, Funky Junkians have a haphazard building style and take recycling very, very seriously. It's a community. You'll see Funky Junkians at work, at home, in school and even seeking medial assistance."

Upon arrival, one receives a map, and this can be a handy thing to have, as it's easy to lose track of where one may or may not have ventured. (Teleporters are located throughout the build, but exploration by foot is preferable and can lead to many other nooks and crannies.) Through exploration and an informative museum exhibit, it becomes clear that the time period of Funky Junk is far into the future: humans have long since disappeared, were replaced by pixel avatars (although that's somewhat uncertain, based on archaeological digs), and were then followed by the current inhabitants, which one can spot here and there: the Funky Junkians.

Be sure to venture underwater, too — a good way of getting there is to wander into the maelstrom on the surface of the water, with dramatic results — and also to watch out for free items (plus, just click on everything). To keep abreast of Funky Junk's progress (as the sim is likely to change over time), stay tuned to its blog. "The blog is integral to the art," Carmsie told me. "They go hand in hand." The installation will remain on display through June.