Are you here

In the ongoing exploration titled Are You Here, I return to my birthplace to examine the intertwined stories of olive tree cultivation and personal rediscovery. This work-in-progress bridges the tactile world of the grove with the intangible threads of memory, identity, and time.

Drawing from the deep symbolism of the ancient olive tree—its endurance, cycles, and rootedness—the project unfolds as a meditation on contrasts: between what is visible and what is hidden, the past and the present, presence and absence.

Fragments of childhood, family rituals, and land work resurface through a lens that is both personal and dreamlike. Each frame asks a quiet question, blurring the boundary between observation and reflection.

"You are physically here, but are you really here?"

This project invites viewers to linger in that space—to question presence, to honor return, and to consider the quiet, cyclical beauty of reconnection.