02. PUGLIA OLIVE TREEDATE: 10/2023 - Continuing
MEDIUM: Digital
Farmers in the Puglia region of Italy have grown and harvested olives for thousands of years. Originally planted by the Romans, these ancient olive groves illustrate the fundamental and symbiotic connetion between human and the environment. They also represent the Italian appreciation for antiquity and its conflict with modernity through the practice of monoculture. Since 2013, nearly one third of 50-60 million trees in the region have been infected with a bacteria called Xylella Fastidiosa. Some blame the lack of biodiversity inherent to today’s agricultural techniques. This body of work serves a document to the existence and beauty of these trees.