Edward Burtynsky Documents Xylella's Devastation of Puglia's Olive Groves
Edward Burtynsky, a Canadian photographer born in 1955, revisits Italy to capture the environmental crisis triggered by Xylella fastidiosa in Puglia. His exhibition, titled "Xylella Fastidiosa. Puglia: The Lost Olive Groves," will be showcased at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome from November 21 to 27, 2022, and at the Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali in Polignano a Mare from November 25, 2022, to April 9, 2023. This initiative follows his residency with Fondazione Sylva, concentrating on ecological restoration. Burtynsky’s images reveal the devastation of ancient olive trees, with the pathogen first identified in October 2013, affecting one million trees by 2015. His works are part of over 60 museum collections globally and he previously documented marble quarrying in Carrara during the 1990s.
Key facts
- Edward Burtynsky documents Xylella fastidiosa's impact on Puglia's olive groves.
- Exhibition runs at Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome (Nov 21–27, 2022) and Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali, Polignano a Mare (Nov 25, 2022 – Apr 9, 2023).
- Project created during a residency with Fondazione Sylva, a non-profit for environmental regeneration founded in 2021.
- Xylella fastidiosa was first detected in October 2013; by 2015 it had infected one million olive trees in Puglia.
- Affected local cultivars: Cellina di Nardò and Ogliarola salentina.
- Burtynsky is known for his Anthropocene series and 40-year career documenting industrialization.
- His works are in over 60 museums including MoMA, Guggenheim, Tate Modern, and Reina Sofía.
- Burtynsky previously photographed marble quarrying in Carrara in the 1990s.
Entities
Artists
- Edward Burtynsky
- Daniele Corricciati
Institutions
- Fondazione Sylva
- Auditorium Parco della Musica
- Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali
- Festival delle Scienze
- National Gallery of Canada
- MoMA
- Guggenheim Museum
- Museo Reina Sofía
- Tate Modern
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Premio Pascali
- Fondazione Pino Pascali
- Museo Castromediano
- Polo Biblio-Museale di Lecce
- Artribune
Locations
- St. Catharines
- Ontario
- Canada
- Italy
- Puglia
- Salento
- Rome
- Polignano a Mare
- Carrara
- Alpi Apuane
- New York
- Madrid
- London
- Los Angeles
- California
- Lecce
- Zollino