Great Sandy River - Bleeding mountain. New roads being cut into the ecologically sensitive Knuckles mountain range...

Bleeding mountain.

New roads being cut into the ecologically sensitive Knuckles mountain range in the name of ‘clean’ hydropower.

Projects of this scale permanently alter the flow of wild rivers, displace communities and destroy habitats that support endemic and endangered biodiversity.

Great Sandy River - One of the 3,000 families that were forcibly evicted from their ancestral homes due to the...

One of the 3,000 families that were forcibly evicted from their ancestral homes due to the construction of a hydropower dam.

Haunting landscapes that have been shaped and transformed by giants walls and water.

Great Sandy River - Periods of low rainfall exacerbated by effects of the climate crisis reveal old settlements...

Periods of low rainfall exacerbated by effects of the climate crisis reveal old settlements drowned by dams and reservoirs in Central Sri Lanka.

Great Sandy River - An old classroom resurfaces from the bottom of a reservoir bed that was once submerged by a...

An old classroom resurfaces from the bottom of a reservoir bed that was once submerged by a hydropower dam.

Great Sandy River - Like the ebb and flow of tides, the rains will arrive and these barren landscapes will be shaped...

Like the ebb and flow of tides, the rains will arrive and these barren landscapes will be shaped and transformed by the forces of water once again.

Great Sandy River - As the water recedes, it reveals. Skeletons of once thriving ecosystems remain as the only sign...

As the water recedes, it reveals. Skeletons of once thriving ecosystems remain as the only sign of life that flourished at the bottom of this reservoir bed.

Great Sandy River - A new resettlement community formed by clearing a large area of natural forest close to a...

A new resettlement community formed by clearing a large area of natural forest close to a National Park in Sri Lanka that is linked to surrounding forests. Elephants and other wildlife used to inhabit this forested area and use it as natural corridor.

Great Sandy River - An aerial view of a reservoir bed during a drought in Central Sri Lanka. The patterns, squares...

An aerial view of a reservoir bed during
a drought in Central Sri Lanka. The patterns, squares and lines are all that remain of the once thriving town of Teldeniya.

Great Sandy River - Development projects in ecologically sensitive areas often open up these regions to the growth of...

Development projects in ecologically sensitive areas often open up these regions to the growth of collateral industries such as logging and mining.

Great Sandy River - Fishermen at the Senanayake Samudra —the largest reservoir in Sri Lanka. Skeletons of...

Fishermen at the Senanayake Samudra —the largest reservoir in Sri Lanka. Skeletons of trees that once belonged to a forest are all that remain here today.

Great Sandy River - The sandy banks of the Mahaweli river offer places of recreation and refuge. Downstream of the...

The sandy banks of the Mahaweli river offer places of recreation and refuge. Downstream of the headwaters, as the river meanders through the low lying landscapes of Mahiyanganaya, families congregate to bathe, wash their clothes, and socialise.

We are the architects of our own demise. Humans are witnessing an era of endangered landscapes; those under threat from misguided policy and planning, from ‘green’ energy development tropes, and from the climate crisis.

Great Sandy River

The Mahaweli, meaning ‘Great Sandy River’, is the longest and most revered river in Sri Lanka.

Over decades, the Mahaweli river has been exploited, choked, and dammed for irrigation and energy. Large dams have flooded valleys and made lakes out of wild rivers while rural communities were forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands. Resettlement of communities, deforestation, and habitat loss are just some of the knock-on effects.

Globally, the era of large dams is over, yet in Sri Lanka, hydropower remains the largest renewable energy source, with more projects in the pipeline.

This ongoing series aims to explore the paradox of hydropower and shed light on the hidden cost of renewables by highlighting their ecological and social impacts. The project seeks to focus on lesser-known and under-reported aspects to unpack the downstream consequences and cleaner energy solutions in ways that have not been attempted before.

With Sri Lanka facing an unprecedented economic crisis, fuel shortages, droughts, and power outages, the question of where we source our energy from has never been more important. As the climate crisis intensifies, investing in clean sources of energy is critical. If we are to safeguard the free flowing rivers we have left and work towards a healthier future for our planet, we must ask important questions and ensure we learn from our past and find sustainable alternatives for our future.

This project was conceptualised and first developed from a grant given by the Goethe Institute in Sri Lanka and parts of this work has been exhibited at the 'Humanity and Earth' group exhibition in Colombo (2020) and Jaffna (2023.). The project was also selected as one of the five recipients for the Visura grant for visual journalists in 2023.