Olive Tree  

Cyanotype print on cotton paper, 63 cm x 87 cm (25 in x 34 in) , 2025  

Olive Tree investigates the relationship between memory and place through a photograph of an olive tree draped with transparent fabric. This work is based on a photograph that was originally taken by Zien in 2019 and printed as a cyanotype– utilizing one of the first photo printing methods– which carries connotations of archival and historical resources. 

The photograph is divided across nine A4 papers that have been assembled into one large photograph. Each part can be separated, or removed, symbolizing the fragility of memory and the possibility of losing parts of it. Olive Tree is a nexus for old and new techniques; manual and mechanical; from taking the photo to developing the negative and printing with cyanotype. The scenery in the photo is made of fragments that could be individual but belong together in an attempt to create a holistic picture that is tangible. It can elicit a response in a way that is unique to photography– a medium that can both document and re-imagine what may have been absent or lost. 

Ronen Zien is a visual artist and photographer living and working in Shefa-Amr. His works discuss the relationship between memory, identity and nature while combining analogue and digital techniques. He focuses on discovering the visual archive and experimentally reproducing it while combining documentary and imaginary aspects of photography. In addition to exhibiting locally and internationally, Zien also received the Lauren and Mitchell Presser Photography Award (2023). He received his BFA and MFA at Bezalel Academy for Art and Design in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv respectively.