Anchor in the Landscape

The olive tree is a totem of Palestinian identity, culture, and resistance. It supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 Palestinian families, is a centre of traditions and identities, and has long been a target of destruction and theft. Since 1967, 800,000 Palestinian olive trees have been destroyed by Israeli authorities and settlers. Between 2021-2022, photographers Adam Broomberg and Rafael Gonzalez have been photographing olive trees in the Occupied Territories of Palestine, many of which are thousands of years old. This project brings together their studied, absorbing portraits of these trees, which act as fixed points in a historic and transforming landscape that is constantly disputed, altered, and increasingly destroyed. Each portrait bears witness to the presence and resilience of the Palestinian people and their relationship with the land.

Anchor in the Landscape was published by Mack Books with a text by Dr. Irus Braverman. Works from the series have been exhibited in South West Bank, at the 60th edition of La Biennale di Venezia (2024), Water Like Tears, Flour Like Soil at ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai (2024), Imminent and Eminent Ecologies, FADA Gallery in Johannesburg (2024) Silent Times at Kunsthalle Extra City in Antwerp (2025), ‘AʿMĀL AL-‘ARḌ Landworks, Collective Action and Sound at Spore Initiative in Berlin (2025) and will be included in Lieux Saint Partagés (Shared Holy Places) at Villa Medici in Rome (2025).

Adam Broomberg

Projects

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