New Work by Beth Moon!

Beth Moon, Nardo II, Pigment on Japanese Gampi & Silver Leaf, 8x10" Image, Paper 15x20", Edition of 15, $1400

For over two decades, Beth Moon has been dedicated to documenting some of the world's oldest and most beautiful trees as an act of preservation, immortalizing these awe-inspiring forms with stunning Platinum prints.

In 2015, Moon visited ancient Olive Groves in Italy. Many of the trees in these groves have lived for over a thousand years, so it is no surprise that Moon was captivated by their expressive forms and "vacuous trunks as large as caves." The oldest olive tree in Italy is over 3,000 years old, has a trunk that is 40 feet wide, and stands at about 26 feet tall!

Equipped to handle drought, subzero temperatures, frost, and even fire, olive trees are extraordinarily resilient. Unfortunately in 2013, unknown to farmers for some time, meadow spittlebugs — small insects carrying a bacterium identified as Xylella fastidiosa, were quickly multiplying and infecting each tree they fed on. Since then many olive groves have been ravaged, and in an attempt to contain the virus from spreading into Northern Europe, farmers were ordered to cut down their heritage trees. The result has led to economic catastrophe and heartbreak. It is reported that twenty million trees have been infected to this day.

Devastated by this news, Moon temporally set the photographs aside. Seven years later, in an attempt to convey the impression of these majestic trees Beth Moon and photo-eye are pleased to release a new portfolio of work entitled Olivi Monumentali del Salento (The Titans of Salento), featuring the ancient olive trees in Italy.

Moon has incarnated the fragility of her subject, using a noble metal as a form of support for a delicate image. This elegant and stunning body of work has been printed onto Japanese Gampi paper, the most luxurious fiber used in making the finest Japanese papers, and is hand-gilded with silver leaf. The process allows for some transparency, allowing the silver leaf to shine, creating a heavenly glow within the image's highlights.

>> View THE TITANS of SALENTO portfolio <<

Beth Moon, Felline, Pigment on Japanese Gampi & Silver Leaf, 8x10" Image, Edition of 15, $1400

"Late one afternoon, a proud farmer welcomes me into his grove with a pot of tea and tablecloth. We sit in the grass under the shade of one of his oldest trees. Dappled light shimmers through silver leaves sparkling like diamonds, and I think, this is what heaven must look like."