Ghosts in the Field

Ghosts in the Field is a photographic exploration of Salento, a region in southern Italy where ancient traditions exist in contrast with ecological crisis and modernity. At the heart of the project is the devastation caused by Xylella, a bacterial disease that has decimated more than 21 million olive trees. Once the foundation of Salento’s agricultural and cultural identity, these trees now stand as skeletal ruins — remnants of a centuries-old way of life.

The work has developed through Murray Ballard’s visits to his wife’s family in Cocumola over more than a decade. Returning each summer, he has witnessed the transformation of both the landscape and daily life. The older generation clings to traditions that have sustained rural existence for centuries, while the younger generation looks outward, drawn to the aspirational lifestyles of globalised social media. With fewer young people choosing to work the land and birth rates declining, the social fabric of these villages is shifting irrevocably.

As tourism accelerates across Puglia, bringing economic growth but also the commercialisation of local culture, the series reflects on ecological, cultural and generational loss. Through subtle references to local folklore and mythology, Ballard considers the fragile and unpredictable nature of progress, and the cycles of change through which landscape, culture and people continually reshape one another.