shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMalaysia

on the northeast coast of Borneo, in Malaysian Sabah

Sandakan

Name: Sandakan — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a harbour town with the forest still pressed against its back.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“Sandakan sits on a deep natural harbour on the northeast coast of Sabah, the Malaysian state at the top of Borneo. It was the colonial capital of British North Borneo before the war, lost most of its old buildings in 1945, and rebuilt around the same waterfront. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is twenty kilometres west, on the edge of the lowland forest reserve; the Kinabatangan River winds south of town, where proboscis monkeys and pygmy elephants come to the water at dusk. Stilt houses still run out into the harbour at Sim Sim. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Sandakan, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Sandakan

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Sandakan is the second-largest city in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the northeast coast of Borneo, with a population of around 440,000. It sits on Sandakan Bay, a deep natural harbour facing the Sulu Sea. From 1883 until 1946 it was the capital of British North Borneo; most of the old town was destroyed during the Allied bombing of 1945 and rebuilt around the same waterfront grid. The Sandakan Memorial Park, on the site of the wartime POW camp, marks the start of the route of the 1945 death marches to Ranau.

— informed by Wikipedia — Sandakan, Wikipedia — Sandakan Memorial Park

— the silence

South of Sandakan, the Kinabatangan River runs about 560 kilometres from the central highlands to the Sulu Sea, the longest river in Sabah. The lower stretch holds one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Southeast Asia, partly because forest clearing for oil palm has compressed orangutans, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, and hornbills into the riparian corridor. Sunrise and sunset boat trips out of Sukau and Bilit, about two hours by road from Sandakan, are the standard way in. The forest is almost silent until the dusk cicadas turn on.

— informed by Wikipedia — Kinabatangan River

— the visit

The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre sits about 23 kilometres west of Sandakan inside the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. It was founded in 1964 and is the oldest orangutan rehabilitation site in the world; orphaned and rescued animals are taught to forage and released into the reserve. Feeding platforms are open to visitors twice a day, typically at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and the adjacent Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre is included on most visits. Sandakan Airport, eleven kilometres north of town, connects to Kuala Lumpur and to Kota Kinabalu.

— informed by Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

— where

Malaysia · Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia

— position

5.8402° N · 118.1179° E

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

23 km W

Sepilok

rainforest reserve and rehabilitation centre

90 km S

Kinabatangan River

lowland river wildlife corridor

40 km N

Turtle Islands Park

offshore island park

Sandakan

Sepilok

Kinabatangan River

Turtle Islands Park

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Sandakan — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

On the northeast coast of Sabah, the Malaysian state at the top of Borneo. It sits on Sandakan Bay facing the Sulu Sea, about 380 kilometres east of the state capital Kota Kinabalu.

The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre sits 23 kilometres west of town inside the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. Founded in 1964, it is the oldest centre of its kind and rehabilitates orphaned and rescued orangutans for release into protected forest.

It held a Japanese POW camp where about 2,500 Australian and British prisoners were interned. In 1945, surviving prisoners were forced on three death marches roughly 260 kilometres inland to Ranau; only six men, all Australian escapees, survived.

By road south to the river villages of Sukau or Bilit, about two hours by car. Lodges along the lower river run sunrise and sunset boat trips to watch proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, hornbills, and orangutans along the riparian forest.

The drier window runs roughly March through September, with the heaviest rains from November to February. Wildlife viewing on the Kinabatangan is reliable year-round; the dry season concentrates animals near the river as inland pools shrink.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that customer. The piece reads as Sandakan harbour and the forest wall behind it rather than a generic tropical scene, so the recognition lands as a specific place, not a stand-in.

It sits well in Tropical-modern, Biophilic, and Jewel-tone Maximalist interiors. The deep forest greens and harbour blues anchor a room, and the piece reads as a real place rather than a botanical pattern.

Yes. Biophilic design has moved past leaf prints toward specific living landscapes, and a Borneo rainforest scene reads as an actual ecosystem. It pairs well with rooms that already use rattan, dark wood, and live plants.

Above a standard sofa or console, the Large reads at distance and the harbour holds focus. For a wider wall, a four-tile Mural carries the bay and the forest together; the nine-tile Mural is for open walls beyond two metres.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for a bathroom, shower, or kitchen backsplash. Both are scratch-resistant and hold up to steam and routine cleaning.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin protective finish, so nothing wears off with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's own visual language by Reid Wender and finished in-house. No licensing, no third-party art.

— if this one stayed with you