What makes olive trees so appealing to Jochen Rohner is not just how well they suit the negative format he uses. His fascination with these gnarled and rugged ‘creatures’ was immediate when he first encountered them on a Mallorcan finca in the early 1980s.

The knowledge that some of these trees have been alive for hundreds of years, and the thought of what they might have gone through and witnessed, fills him with enthusiasm. He has photographed over a hundred olive trees, using his large-format camera to gently explore their individual character as well as their unique shapes and structures—sometimes even in the company of curious wildlife. He knows the ‘names’ and locations of almost every single tree. Their age and ‘wisdom’ are literally embedded in Rohner’s photographs.

In the exhibition ELAIA II „the Big once“, Jochen Rohner presents large-format (1.25 x 1.80 m) analog black and white photographs of the olive trees.

Jochen Rohner is an old-school photographer through and through. He has been working in analogue photography for more than forty-five years and, since moving from Aachen to Berlin in 2001, has been running a darkroom specialising in black-and-white photography. Whilst his technical skill and precision reveal his background in architecture, Rohner draws the bulk of his visual inspiration from nature, with all its peculiarities and unpredictabilities. He faces obstacles and new challenges with the composure of a curious mind, accepting them for what they are: opportunities to develop further by exploring new and unexpected paths.

Thursday, July 2, 2026, 7 – 10 pm
Opening reception

Sunday, July 5, 2026, 7 pm
Finissage