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Best Aquarium Selection by Each Judge - Nescente de utinga - Marreira Júnior / Brazil - IAPLC 2022

26 August 2025

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The work recreates a distinctive natural landscape with bent driftwood and reddish-brown stones. The work depicts a narrow stream of cosmetic sand flowing from the center and right side of the aquascape and merging in the foreground. The aquatic plants are impressive and fit this unique landscape.

IAPLC 2022 World Ranking Announcement - World Ranking 0017 - Honour Prize

Nescente de utinga

Author: Marreira Júnior / Brazil

Aquarium Size/W70XD44XH30(cm)

Aquatic Plants

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Fish & Invertebrates

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AWARDS

World Ranking 0017 Honour Prize IAPLC 2022

Comments from Mr. Oliver Mengedoht (Germany)

'Nascente de utinga" shows a spectacular underwater landscape. Translated from Portuguese, it probably stands for Utinga spring, which is located in the state of Bahia in Brazil. Whether the participant is from there or spent a vacation near this source is unknown to me, but I can well imagine that his artwork gives an impression of what it might look like there. Great complexity from front to back with a multiple intertwined "watercourse" under water in the center gives the eye plenty of opportunity to wander around, discovering byways, stones, roots and lovely plantings, but ultimately the eye is always drawn back to the center where the stream course seems to disappear over rapids on the horizon, spanned by an arch of beautiful root wood. At the same time, as I know from the golden section rule in photography, this center point is not placed exactly in the middle, which the human eye sometimes perceives as static and rather boring, but rather divides the view into one and two thirds, which tends to be perceived as perfect. An incredible amount of detail creates a great whole out of all the components used. All of this also gives fish and other invertebrate inhabitants enough depth and hiding places. Bravo!

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