Through the translucent washes of acrylic paint, Liu Hanwen layers a profound sense of nostalgia across the canvas. At the center, an old man holds a cigarette between his lips, his deep gaze seemingly fixed upon a life journey buried beneath the passage of time. Having married at seventeen before being swept away by turbulent times, he left his homeland to join the military and eventually came to Taiwan, where he took part in the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway—ultimately losing his life in the mountains.

A monumental portrait intertwines with the subtle figure of a woman from his native waterside villages, suspended within a hazy, timeless space. Blending realism with expressive suggestion, Liu quietly evokes a life shaped by displacement and sacrifice, while conveying an enduring attachment to the homeland that time could never erase.