Water Lords
The Water Lord
2022
Single Channel 4k Video
26:00 min
Supported by Graham Foundation and Sharjah Art Foundation
In the collection of Servais Collection
In Water Lords, Khan investigates the enduring legacy of “water lords” first designated by British colonizers. These figures, who historically controlled resource allocation to maximize imperial agricultural output, remain entrenched in the power structures of modern Pakistan. The video considers how the massive infrastructures controlled by water lords have effectively de-watered the Indus, likely soon reducing it to a trickle at the sea’s mouth, displacing communities, and destroying protective mangrove forests. By weaving research from David Gilmartin’s Blood and Water with her own field observations, Khan questions a national development agenda that prioritizes economic control over the Indigenous populations and natural ecosystems that have lived alongside the river for millennia.