All things of value are defenceless

Thousands years olive trees from an bird’s eye perspective

Some say the demise of the Minoans – one of the earliest civilizations of Europe, situated on contemporary Crete – was due to deforestation.

Thousands of years later, contemporary Greece may face the same problem. Unprecedented forest fires and following floods have destroyed a quarter of the agricultural production.

Greece’s prime minister has declared they are fighting a war in peacetime. Indeed, Greece is at the frontline in bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.

One of the first victims may be the very source of pride of the Mediterranean: Olives. The extreme heat and dry summers have had disastrous consequences on the olive production, making the staple in Greek kitchen a luxurious product.

I want to visualize what is at stake; and start by portraying the ancient trees of Greece. Those that witnessed our humanity change in the past thousands of years. Who knows these wise, resilient creatures may inspire to turn the tide. The trees are portrayed from an ecocentric perspective, how would birds and bees experience those trees?

In 2024 I photographed 14 ancient olive trees in Crete for this project.

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