SIYU AWARD
SIYU AWARD

Marco Serventi
Carried by the wind

What happens to a community when its natural resources become a commodity? In the last decade, the rapid expansion of wind energy has transformed territories and local economies in Northeastern Brazil. Over 10 000 wind turbines have reshaped the country’s landscape, fulfilling the government’s promise to make Brazil the “Saudi Arabia of green energy.” On the frontlines of the global green transition, local communities have faced the loss of land and income, opaque land leases, and the disruption of traditional livelihoods. By challenging received ideas of sustainability, Carried by the Wind explores how extractive logics can persist within renewable energy systems, who bears the costs, and whether a truly sustainable future is possible.

Marco Serventi is a photographer from Lugano, Switzerland. His practice centres on the connections between people and place, and how environments shape human life. Solo shows include Photo ville New York and Head On Sydney; his work has appeared in The Guardian, GEO and The New York Times. He studied Film Studies in Lausanne and Visual Journalism at the ICP, New York.

Marco Serventi

Carried by the wind

 

What happens to a community when its natural resources become a commodity? In the last decade, the rapid expansion of wind energy has transformed territories and local economies in Northeastern Brazil. Over 10 000 wind turbines have reshaped the country’s landscape, fulfilling the government’s promise to make Brazil the “Saudi Arabia of green energy.” On the frontlines of the global green transition, local communities have faced the loss of land and income, opaque land leases, and the disruption of traditional livelihoods. By challenging received ideas of sustainability, Carried by the Wind explores how extractive logics can persist within renewable energy systems, who bears the costs, and whether a truly sustainable future is possible.

Marco Serventi is a photographer from Lugano, Switzerland. His practice centres on the connections between people and place, and how environments shape human life. Solo shows include Photo ville New York and Head On Sydney; his work has appeared in The Guardian, GEO and The New York Times. He studied Film Studies in Lausanne and Visual Journalism at the ICP, New York.