Autumn Rhyme - IAPLC 2022 | Top 6 | Bronze Prize - Liwei Guan/China

The second Bronze Prize went to the work depicting a forest in autumn.

Although the motif of this work is the same as those of the second and third place-winners, the placement of a large fallen tree in the foreground of this work gives us a realistic impression of actually stepping into a forest. The perspective and sense of nature are skillfully expressed by layering several fallen trees of different angles and thicknesses behind the foremost fallen tree, and the perspective is further emphasized by placing a slightly deformed grove of trees in the distance behind it and using white sand to represent a meandering narrow stream. The selection and planting of aquatic plants are typical, but the red stem plants in the background add a touch of autumn color

The sixth place in the world ranking (Bronze Prize) went to the work "Autumn Rhyme" by Mr. Liwei Guan of China, which scored toral 1,158 points. This work was selected individually as one of the top 10 works by 4 out of 10 judges, and among them, Mr. Jiangang Diao (China) highly praised it. The scenery where moss starts to grow on fallen trees in this work is impressive. The thick driftwood piece in the foreground emphasizes the sense of perspective, and the close-up of the moss on the tree is interesting. In the background, red stem plants are used as a distant view expression, and the brownish tint of Hygrophila pinnatifida growing slightly on the fallen tree in the foreground gives the impression of autumn, which fits the title of the work, "Autumn Rhyme" perfectly. The overall atmosphere of the brown driftwood is also suitable for the natural feel of this work. This work incorporates the standard techniques of planted aquariums in many places, and it is unlikely to be influenced by the judges' preferences, which is one of the reasons why this type of layout is often ranked high in the competition. It is not clear whether this trend will continue in the future, but it is certain that it will become harder to receive high marks in terms of novelty

The creation of artwork with an awareness of visual impact, worked well.

Q: Please tell us about the theme, motif, idea, etc. of this work.
A: The inspiration for this work came from a landscape painting inspired by nature. I tried to create an aquascape in harmony with the dynamic waterfall cascading down from a great height, fallen trees coming to life in the water splash, moss and epiphytes growing lushly after absorbing sufficient nutrients, and trees in the distance that had completely changed color. I called it “Autumn Rhyme”. If I can give the viewer a sense of creativity, visual impact, naturalness, and realism, then I have succeeded in half of my attempts. One of the ideas I adopted during the photo-shooting of this work was to position the camera point on the fallen tree in the foreground and release the shutter with a shallow depth of field. This created a contrast in size with the trees in the background, and the visual impact was such that the viewer seemed to be right there in the scene.

Q: Please tell us the key points in selecting aquatic plant and fish species.
A: Rotala sp. ‘Hra’ was planted in the rear to enhance the image of a colorful autumn forest. Anubias barteri var. nana ‘Variegata’ was placed in the foreground to adjust the overall scale of the layout by the size of the leaves. In addition, a wide variety of mosses were planted to represent the image of mosses native to the actual forest. Moenkhausia costae were chosen for the fish. They swim in a school, and their light and elegant color makes them look very beautiful when combined with the landscape.

Q: Please tell us about layouts and dreams that you want to create in the future.
A: I already have a rough idea of what I want to do next year, and I want it to create a strong impact. And of course, my dream is to stand in the center of the IAPLC podium!

Author Liwei Guan ／ People’s Republic of China