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Eventually, Samper began to exhibit his work, photographs as well as his other art, in galleries around the world. Samper's art has made a great impact in many quarters. In 1998, the Smithsonian Institute published his book Makuna, from the tropical forests of northern South America. Songs and chants of some of the aboriginal people living there are juxtaposed with the sounds of the wildlife and the elements. Samper moved to BC that same year. He is excited to be exploring this new territory, a temperate rather than tropical rainforest. Here he has rediscovered the joy and freedom to photograph at will. (Because of the situation in Columbia, it was often dangerous to travel and take pictures.) He considers his photography to be a contemplation of nature. His belief in the constancy of nature is reinforced when he discovers mosses on Gabriola Island that resemble some that he photographed years ago in South America, and when he listens to the Capilano River and remembers the roar of the Upper Amazon and her tributaries. To Samper, the "beauty of nature is a reflection of natural order and our own spirits." Portrait of an Amazon People. Samper has also worked on assignment for the National Geographic Society and Planeta Humano. His travels have taken him to many parts of the world, including India and North Africa. Much of Samper's artwork has been experimental and innovative. He has a background in biology and freely intermingles the disciplines of science and art. He has explored various photographic techniques and employed unusual materials in his paintings, including coffee. In his more experiential endeavours, he has collaborated with nature, creating the conditions for her laws to occur, such as accelerating the process of erosion. "Erosion," he says, "reveals the structure of things." During his time living alone in the forest, Samper was very aware of the sounds of nature--the soughing of wind through the trees, the roar of a waterfall, the myriad noises of birds and insects. He realized that the sounds of the elements had been going on since the origin of the planet. Later came those of the animal life and, eventually, the human sounds of language, song, and music. It is like one great symphony of our Mother Earth. Today, in this modern age, so cluttered with the noises of technology, many of us never hear the song of nature. We cannot know how much the natural sounds are a part of our deep spiritual self. Samper decided to combine the audio beauty of nature with the visual and, in 1999, produced a book and CD entitled Voces de la Tierra (The Voices of the This innovative publication incorporates the visual images of S a m p e r is o f f e r i n g a s e r i e s o f l e c t u r e s a n d s l i d e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a t t h e Ferry B u i l d i n g G a l l e r y in W e s t Vancouver. U p c o m i n g p r e s e n t a t i o n s a r e The Ecuador Wind a n d t h e C o n d o r -- V i s i o n s from to t h e Highlands Canada: The Light, of Peru the Tropical A n d e s of Columbia and Spirit- a n d Bolivia, M a r c h 2 1 , a n d Pacific Western 7 p.m. the L a n d and t h e Sea, A p r i l 1 8 . B o t h b e g i n a t S a m p e r has c r e a t e d a n e w c o m p a n y c a l l e d N O A N O A The S p i r i t o f Nature, d e d i c a t e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of cultural projects w i t h a n intern a t i o n a l s c o p e . S a m p e r is a l s o o f f e r i n g t r a v e l p h o t o g r a p h y w o r k s h o p s in a n d a r o u n d V a n c o u v e r , a s w e l l a s o n e t h a t w i l l t r a v e l t o t h e A m a z o n l a t e r t h i s y e a r . To l e a r n m o r e a b o u t N O A N O A , w o r k s h o p s , a n d t h e w o r k of D i e g o S a m p e r , v i s i t h i s w e b s i t e a t w w w . c a l a n o a . c o m o r c a l l h i m a t 926-6370. Earth). nature with her sounds. The photographs, text, and soundscapes come ( |P mm ^ff hewe the / MIMMO Guitars & Amplifiers Keyboards and Digital Pianos Pro Audio & Lighting Music Software & Recording Brass & Woodwinds Drums & Percussion Orchestral Strings Print music powered by: W w a r d m u s i c S A L E S · SERVICE · RENTALS · FINANCING L o n g North Vancouver L&M 1615 Lonsdale Avenue Phone: 986-0911 Vancouver L&M 2301 Granville Street Phone: 734-4886 & M c Q u a d e MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS www.long-mcquade.com Vancouver Ward Music 412 West Hastings Street Phone: 682-5288 M a r c h | A p r i l