Sand Wan – biography
Sand Wan is a fine art photographer and a member of the Chinese Canadian Artists Federation of Vancouver.
He was born in 1949 in Hong Kong and graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic obtaining a Foundation Design Certificate. While he was in Hong Kong, he was engaged in the publishing business and graphic design. His works have won numerous awards in Hong Kong and international design competitions. Since 1996 he has been living and working in Vancouver.
In 2013, he was invited to exhibit his photographic works entitled ‘The Beauty of Immortality: Reincarnation of Driftwood’ by the Gallery Cathedral Place in Vancouver. In 2015, he held an exhibition called ‘The Passing of Time’ at the city hall of Richmond, B.C., Canada. In 2016, he held a solo photography exhibition entitled ‘Guei Hou’ at the Viridian Gallery in Vancouver. During the same year, he also participated in two group exhibitions. The former was organized by the Chinese Canadian Artists Federation of Vancouver, the latter entitled ‘Line of Life’ was held in the Viridian Gallery, Vancouver. Some of his works remain in private collections.
In 2017, he published book Immortality: Sand Wan Photography
In 2019, he published book Finn Slough Photography by Sand wan
溫一沙
溫一沙是純藝術攝影師 ，溫哥華華人藝術家協會會員 。
1949年生於香港 ，畢業於香港理工學院設計學系 。曾多年從事出版與平面設計工作 ，其作品多次獲得香港與國際設計獎項 。
2013年應邀在溫哥華The Gallery at Cathedral Place舉辦《不朽之美 漂木的重生》主題攝影個展 。2015年於加拿大卑斯省列治文市政廳展出《歲月流過》系列攝影作品 。2016年在溫哥華瑋瑞畫廊舉辦《龜吼》攝影作品個展 。同年參與在溫哥華中華文化中心舉辦的《溫哥華華人藝術家協會2016年年展》；及參加在溫哥華瑋瑞畫廊舉辦的《黑白時光》聯展 。其攝影作品部分為私人收藏 。
2017年出版個人攝影集《溫一沙作品[不朽] 》
2019年出版個人攝影集《芬蘭漁村》
The Beauty of Immortality: Insight Gained from Life
Sand Wan
The Fraser River flows silently in front of me. Following the current, waterfowls dart between aquatic plants and seagulls fly low dashing past the waving river. Occasionally, a boat sails by stirring a series of wavelets in the glittering lights of waves.
Along the Fraser River, I search the ruins of dead trees and peer into the beauty of their decay. I also savour their various elegant forms that beautifully blend into nature. Such an endeavour becomes one of my greatest joys. I am lost in these tranquil and peaceful surroundings where the sky and water merge into one colour. In my mind’s eye and antennae, I observe the decaying logs. Enthusiastically I engage my camera to capture their images.
Let us ask how many living things in nature are akin to trees displaying their most graceful forms after death? I love driftwood that has been floating in the river many years or even centuries. One vividly witnesses that many wounds of the driftwood are caused by civilization, and their scars are the result of cutting and sawing. Constantly washed and pounded by the river, their profiles are carved in rounded and simple forms, with their texture appearing even clearer and brighter. The dexterous hand of nature has transformed them into sculptures. Still, the multitude of wounds cannot diminish their grace and beauty.
The thick and huge tree trunks remain strong and firm ever after they have been felled. Baptized by weather, assaulted by ice and snow, bored by insects and ants, they decay and disintegrate, at last decomposing into organic soil. At the same time, they call forth the birth of new life. Looking around, one notices the earth is full of life and the decaying trees unexpectedly contribute an offering.
For millions of years, trees continue to grow in silence; even now they never cease supplying the enormous rich resources for human needs. They never ask for anything in return. Every time you and I roam the natural scenery appreciating the beautiful forest, have we even thought of how we treasure what we presently possess? And yet humans, accelerating with insatiable greed, replace the wooded forests with tens of thousands of concrete buildings. Acre after acre, the forests are cut recklessly, and the green world disappears from our view day by day. This rapid economic development causes nature to pay too high a price. If this situation continues, perhaps in the near future humans will eat one’s own bitter fruit.
I would like to thank Canada for its primitive beautiful natural landscapes. The forests inspire and provide me with a boundless joy in photographing them. They are the significant elements and moving force for my creativity. It is as if another door has opened in my life with a renewed purpose and direction. Additionally, countless pieces of driftwood found along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, offer me exceptional creative elements.
The beautiful forms of driftwood stimulate my urge to create. They also allow me to find new meaning and gain insight from life.
Life can be represented in any form displaying the value of its existence.
Sometimes, when life ends its lustre will not be completely lost.
Perhaps, this reflection can become a search for meaning in life.
不朽之美 生命的樂章
温一沙
菲莎河在我的面前靜靜地流淌，水鳥隨波逐浪於水草之間，海鷗低飛掠過起伏的河面，偶爾駛經的船隻，激起了層層輕濤，一片波光粼粼。
沿菲莎河岸，尋找樹木生命的遺跡，「窺探」它們在死亡之後的美麗，細賞它們融合在大自然裡的各種優雅的體態，成了我人生的一大樂趣，令我流連忘返於這寧靜安詳，水天一色之間。用我的心眼，用我的觸角，用我的熱忱，用我的照相機為它們素描影作。
試問在自然界裡，凡有生命的物種，有多少像樹木那樣有著死亡之後，所呈現的那種婀娜多姿的絕美形態？我所喜愛的是在河裡漂浮了多年，甚至是成百上千年的漂木，它們當中也有不少是遭遇了文明的創傷，身上的刀傷鋸痕，每每歷歷在目。經歷了河水接連不斷的洗刷和衝擊，它們的輪廓被雕琢得圓渾簡練，身上的紋理更顯得清晰明快，成為大自然鬼斧神功的雕塑品。然而，各種各樣的創傷依然無損它們固有的風采和美麗。
粗大的樹幹，一旦倒下以後仍舊剛強堅挺，經歷了風雨洗禮，霜雪侵襲，蟲蟻蛀食，終於腐朽解體，化作有機腐土，而同時也在呼喚新生命的誕生。環顧四周，一片生機勃勃，逝者作了意想不到的奉獻。
億萬年來，樹木一直在默默地生長，至今從未間斷地為人類生活提供了極其豐富的資源，但卻不求回報。每當你我遨遊於山水之間，靜觀林木美色之時，可曾想起如何珍惜眼前的一切？且人類往往極盡貪婪與需索無度，每天數以萬計的混凝土建築物以極高的速度侵佔樹木的地盤，大片大片的森林被肆意砍伐，綠色世界在我們的視野裡一天天地消失，經濟高速發展讓大自然付出了不可挽回的代價。這種境況不作改變，也許在不遠的將來，人類終會嚐盡自己種下的惡果。
感謝加拿大，她讓我們擁有如此極具原始美的自然景色，這也是讓我得到這樣的一個靈感，從而置身於無窮樂趣的攝影創作之中的重要因素和推動力，有如在人生中打開了另一扇門，賦予我新的目標和方向。
漂木的美態，激發起我創作的衝動，與此同時，又令我對生命有了一種新的理解和感悟：
生命，可以任何的形式，展現其存在的價值。
生命，有時並不會因其終結而完全失去光彩。
這，也許可以成為我們在生命中的一種追尋。
