The olive tree, represented in its full individuality, is the main subject of a series of black-and-white photographs that Gianni Maffi has taken in various parts of the world. As a result, the olive tree also becomes the symbol uniting different people and populations.

Agrigento, Pont Du Gard and Sardinia are just a few of the places in which he developed this research. In addition to tracing a common identity, these photographs also underscore the diversity – biological and formal, but also social and cultural – characterizing these areas. Behind these olive trees we can see traces of the history of a population, archaeological findings that allow us to rediscover the identity and distinctive characteristics of a civilization that, like nature, can achieve projects destined to survive over the centuries.

After studying photography, Gianni Maffi began to work in the fields of advertising and publishing, collaborating with the magazine Fotopratica and holding courses on the techniques and language of photography. In 1986 he participated in the travelling exhibition entitled Objetivo Italia: fotografia contemporanea italiana curated by Lanfranco Colombo in Mexico for the Milanese gallery Il Diaframma. In 1994 he then took part in Archivio dello Spazio, a project curated by Roberta Valtorta for the Province of Milan. In the Nineties he undertook a series of studies on the natural and urban landscape, standing out among the artists of the new Italian landscape. At the same time, he began to collaborate with another Milanese gallery, Magenta52, where he exhibited collectively and individually starting in 2000. Maffi is very active around Milan at various venues, cultural circles, art galleries and institutions. He was chosen for two exhibitions curated by Jacopo Muzio for the Fondazione Corrente, Uno sguardo sulla città (2007) and EXPOSSIBLE? (2009). The Galleria Spaziofarini6 staged three of his solo exhibitions, Paesaggi (in)naturali (2011), Vedute Alpine (2012) and Italian Memories (2015). His works have been published in respected Italian magazines such as Il Fotografo and Fotopratica, and in 2000 they were published in Quaderni di AFT- no. 2 – Fotografi e fotografia oggi, a series put out by the Archivio Fotografico Toscano; they have also been published in limited-edition art books, namely MILANEXPO, LEGGERMENTE and Vedute italiane 2008-2013. Maffi’s photographs are part of important public and private collections, including that of MUFOCO – Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea in Cinisello Balsamo. In 2013 they were shown at the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Gallarate for the exhibition entitled With a little help from my friends – Artisti per il MA*GA.