SICILIA
In Madonie, Luca tells us that the olive trees on the land that his great-grandparents already have cultivated are around 500 years old. I can’t get my head around this figure, but it does suggest 20 generations.
Enrico, an aloof-looking man, remains rather motionless and distant even when portrayed. When I ask him about his favourite tree, I hear him say ficus and see him become a ficus. His upper arms spread out to the side, his hands grow towards the ground and his face lights up when he talks about roots and branches and their strength.
The journey that began in Sicily is a journey to the people and trees of this island. Vittoria, just a few months old, is the youngest person portrayed on the arm of her father Francesco, and Francesca, at the age of 87, – until now – was the oldest in front of my camera, form a bracket for human age that I can think more easily.
Life is more beautiful with trees, I profess, and ask the Sicilians I meet about their favourite tree and some of their memories. The word „tree“ triggers as many different reactions as the people and trees are different. And Sicily is made up of many Sicilies to be explored on this journey, a journey that celebrates man and tree and the importance of their relationship, emphasising on the awareness that the many living beings grouped under the four letters „tree“ mean salvation and survival for our short human lives.
When I met Luigi de Vecchi and his Fondazione Sylva in my exhibition in Milano, where I was showing my first tree-project „Greytree and Heavensea“, the idea of collaborating on a photographic project was born immediately. Luigi’s vision of a treeful healthy Italy, a greener country for his children and grand-children caught me.
I quickly realised that I wanted to work on Sicily, but also that it’s not just the trees that interest me about this island. So I suggested to Luigi my idea of portraying Sicilians and asking them about their favourite tree, their memories of trees, their ties to trees. He immediately said „yes“ and so, at in June 2024 this project began, which celebrates the beauty of these living beings with leaves, branches, trunks, flowers and the beauty of the people I have met on the island of Sicily.
With my photos, I don’t want to raise a finger to emphasise the endangerment of life around us. I want to point out the beauty inherent in all living beings, which is always linked to fragility. It is self-evident that every living thing on this earth should be preserved and this is inherent in these photos.
Diversity is a buzzword that connects Fondazione Sylva and me, that characterises our planet and its beauty and that now needs to be preserved at various levels.