A few months back, we caught up with photographer Toby Smith to chat about his photos of illegal logging in Madagascar. Now, following on from his self-initiated Light After Dark series – which captured the UK’s 32 coal-fuelled power stations in a
A few months back, we caught up with photographer Toby Smith to chat about his photos of illegal logging in Madagascar. Now, following on from his self-initiated Light After Dark series – which captured the UK’s 32 coal-fuelled power stations in a series of stunning night-time photographs – he’s turned his attention to hydroelectric energy with The Renewables Project.
The fact the series is supported by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) makes it different for two reasons. First, unlike the coal station series, the utility behind the facilities is actively seeking to showcase them – something that can only be positive in an industry that generally prefers to keep as low a profile as possible. Indeed, as Smith noted when Light After Dark opened in 2008, “power stations are both numerous and massive in their structure, and yet, they lie on the periphery of our landscapes and on the edge of our consciousness.”
The second difference is, of course, access. With the co-operation of SSE, Smith was able to gain prolonged entry to a number of incredible – and surreal – spaces. Over the course of three months in the middle of last year’s particularly cold winter, he spent hours exploring vast hydroelectric tunnels, towering turbine halls and snowy, moonlit reservoirs.
The resulting work is, however, quite similar to Light After Dark – and not because of the lighting, landscapes and long exposures. It’s more the sense of raw, uninterrupted power that remains prevalent. Instead of a manmade energy produced by the burning of fossil fuels, what strikes us is the immense power of the land, the landscape and the Earth itself: dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of tiny rivers joining to feed lakes… lakes that fill reservoirs… reservoirs in which pressures build – and then the clinical release into manmade systems to harness them, sending the power coursing across the country on artery-like wires. Where Light After Dark explored our reliance on sinister yet beautiful-looking coal stations, The Renewables Project shines new light on the forbidding and secret landscapes that could help power a more beautiful future.
The Renewables Project is at The Print Space Gallery, 74 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DL, until September 1, 2010.
Chris Hatherill is co-director of super/collider, a London-based collective that explores science through art, articles, projects and products.
