My first visit to Sri Lanka gave me the chance to explore the docks and photograph the colorful boats of Galle. These boats are a defining feature of the historic southern coastal city, often seen docked or beached along the foreshore near Galle Fort. Owned and operated by fishermen from places like Mirissa and Galle, they are used for intensive, commercial-scale fishing. Crews often head out for two to three weeks at a time, using large nets deployed from fast boats to bring in substantial catches of ocean fish—making this industry a major source of employment in the area.
I began by photographing the boats in Galle, then moved on to the busy shoreline markets in Mirissa, where fresh hauls were bought and sold immediately on the docks. The characters involved—the buyers and sellers—were just as fascinating as the activity itself.
What struck me most, however, was the extent to which some of the boats were decorated. Like hot rods of the sea, they felt like bold expressions of personal identity. Many feature a vivid mix of airbrushed mural art, street art, and fantasy illustration. The style leans heavily into hyper-realistic airbrushing—you can see it in the smooth gradients, glossy highlights, and highly detailed faces and animals, such as the woman, wolf, and horse. This technique is common in custom vehicle art, where artists aim for near-photographic realism while amplifying drama and intensity.
