Murray Ballard
Ghosts in the Field

PHOTO OXFORD OPEN CALL 2025: RUNNER UP

Ghosts in the Field is a photographic exploration of Salento, a region in southern Italy where ancient traditions collide with ecological crisis and modernity. Central to this project is the devastation wrought by Xylella, a bacterium that has wiped out over 21 million olive trees. Once the foundation of the region’s agricultural identity, these trees produced half of Italy’s olive oil. Their skeletal remains serve as haunting reminders of a way of life slowly fading beyond our control.

My connection to Salento has evolved over more than a decade of visits to my wife’s family in Cocumola, a small village 10 kilometres inland from the coast. Each summer, I witness not only changes in the landscape but also transformations in daily life and the spirit of the place, reshaped by economic shifts and cultural change. These shifts are felt deeply by my wife’s family: the older generation clings to traditions that have sustained rural life for centuries, while the younger are increasingly drawn to globalised social media and the glamorous lifestyles it portrays. Fewer young people now see a future in working the land – viewing it as a relic – and a declining birth rate further alters the social fabric of these villages.

Puglia, the wider region that includes Salento, is currently the fastest-growing tourist destination in the European Union. While tourism has spurred economic growth, it has also fuelled the commercialisation of local culture and landscapes. Wealthy foreigners buying second homes have driven up real estate prices and changed the dynamics of small villages. As these communities evolve, long-established residents feel a growing sense of dislocation, with the region caught between preserving its cultural identity and yielding to global market pressures.

Throughout the series, visual references to Salento’s rich folklore connect past and present. Superstition remains deeply rooted in the region, passed down through generations. One enduring myth warns that the call of a barn owl is an omen of death or misfortune, reflecting the region’s bond with the unseen and the supernatural. Within this context, the motif of snakes and ladders emerges, symbolising the unpredictable nature of progress – snakes representing setbacks and loss, ladders suggesting aspiration and reinvention.

Ghosts in the Field is a meditation on loss – ecological, cultural and generational – and a reflection on the delicate balance between preserving tradition and embracing change.

Murray Ballard is a UK-based photographer whose work explores subjects including the environment, social issues, science, and technology. His practice connects these areas, offering a thoughtful perspective on contemporary concerns.
Ballard is best known for The Prospect of Immortality, a long-term project investigating cryonics — the practice of freezing the deceased with the hope that future advancements may allow for revival. The project was first shown at Impressions Gallery in Bradford and has toured nationally and internationally. In 2016, GOST Books published a monograph of the project, shortlisted for the Paris Photo Aperture First Book Award.
His commissioned work includes: a residency at The John Innes Centre, Europe’s leading research facility for crop plants and microbiology, resulting in How to Genetically Modify a Tomato and Other Things We Eat, a newspaper publication and pop-up exhibition; a FotoDocument commission documenting the UK’s renewable energy industry, exhibited at the Brighton Photo Biennale; and a collaboration with Photoworks on a project about the South Downs landscape for the Royal Sussex County Hospital. In 2020, he was selected by GRAIN to create new work about the farming community in Lincolnshire, resulting in the 2021 publication The Rural Gaze.
Murray graduated with a Masters in Photography from the University of the West of England in July 2024, continuing to build his photography practice and explore new approaches.