This project explores the transformation of the Apulian landscape affected by Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium introduced from the Americas through global trade.

Once dominated by olive monoculture, the territory now oscillates between loss and regeneration. Tropical crops like avocado have begun to reshape both land and memory, acting as forms of resistance and adaptation. The work unfolds through two symbolic gestures: resin, used to encapsulate fragments such as bark and seeds, and charcoal, obtained from burnt olive bark, used to trace photographic impressions of the new plants. Resin preserves, charcoal transforms — together, they operate as archival and performative tools.

The project inhabits a liminal space where art, ecology, and politics intersect, confronting the scars of ecological collapse and opening space for new narratives of resilience.

The project was part of the exhibition “Plants and Politics” produced by ENSP and ISIA Urbino during the opening week of "Les Rencontres d'Arles".

Arles, 2025

Photography
Lorenzo Urgesi

Supervisor
Silvana Amato
Ludovic Burel
Matteo Guidi
Jonathan Pierini