For Palestinians, the olive trees have moved beyond a sacred, life-giving tree to a symbol of Palestinian resilience in the face of the political turmoil and the trauma they faced throughout the twentieth century. In his olive trees series, Ahmad Canaan paints groves belonging to displaced Palestinians but are now held by the custodian of absentee property. In his paintings, devoid of human beings, the trees stand as the sole witnesses to the past, waiting for the return of their owners.
In The Olive Harvest, the artist depicts his family during the olive harvest as a family ritual embodying the struggle to hold on to the lands of fathers and forefathers.