H is for HEMP

Dates

2016 - Ongoing
Author

Maren Krings
Recognition

A Solo Exhibition at Fonderia 20.9 - PhMuseum 2023 Photography Grant

The German environmental photographer Maren Krings was living out of her car, trying to reduce her ecological footprint, when she discovered hemp. She set out on a six-year journey, to examine how hemp can help create circular economies and contribute to a system reset. Krings has photographed more than 200 projects in 26 countries on four continents and interviewed more than 80 industry experts. H is for Hemp is a globally researched encyclopedic volume on Industrial Hemp in the broader context of climate-change challenges. The hemp paper was exclusively developed for this production with the paper manufacturer Hahnemühle.

Featuring photo documentaries, expert interviews and infographics, the book reveals how hemp can help to clean up the detrimental effects of our modern industries.

The Limited Collector's Edition of 700 copies was produced in the most sustainable way possible, leaving the paper uncoated and all books free of plastic wrapping.

Inspired by finding a more sustainable way to publish an artist book, Maren will be working on curating a traveling exhibition, to continue on the topic of the book H is for Hemp. She will be generating new work under the aspect of finding a new visual literacy to further explore the topic of sustainability in the field of photography and art exhibitions. Embedded in a scientific framework, she will experiment with new materials, frameless hanging, ecologically produced inks, weight and packing + size optimization of the exhibition works. The scientific records of transport routes, emissions and material behavior will provide new insights on how exhibitions can be made more sustainable and what the ecological savings will be to result from it.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Mushroom cloud of ‘Gadget’ over Trinity, seconds after detonation. 16 July, 1945 Source: Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie. Author: United States Department of Energy. The Trinity nuclear test has been proposed as the start of the Anthropocene.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Rainer Nowotny, founder of the German hemp cooperative Hanffaser Uckermark, is a mathematician, physicist and computer scientist. His career path had been characterized by a scientific approach to life since the early 1990s. Looking at history, he brought back a system under which hemp strives best: the cooperative. With a focus on sourcing the raw material within the direct vicinity of the factory and a maximum distance of roughly 100 kilometers, Rainer has managed to work more economically with the hemp fiber, than importing the raw material from other European countries. Yet, this system took much time to build up, as farmers in the region had to be convinced to turn towards planting hemp at first. Rainer has also been actively pushing forward technological innovations for hemp processing in Europe. He does not believe in ownership of his inventions, thus letting the registered patent expire, which has automatically released them to the market as state of the art. He holds a total number of twelve patents, all going into public domain.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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The Rif mountains were known as a hashish growing area, but lately, political will in Morocco favors the Rif valleys to become the new hot spot of cannabis farming, which will only further take away the income and means of mountain farmers. The lowlands and valleys so far served to grow food crops, benefitted by water from the rivers, basins and dams, which are providing a more secure supply of water for agriculture. Yet Europe’s demand for hashish and cannabis from Morocco has steadily increased in the past years. This demand has driven European investors and companies into Morocco, now selling optimized seeds to the big Rif valley farmers so they can plant large areas of cannabis. The more fertile lowlands will yield more harvest and increase the profits of those dealing and selling cannabis, making the mountain farmers’ situation even more precarious. Rif valley, Morocco.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Prad, Venosta Valley, South Tyrol, Italy. The Venosta valley is known for its infinite apple orchards. The fruits can be found on supermarket shelves around the world. Yet the apple industry comes at a large cost for soil health, since large amounts of herbicides, pesticides and insecticides are sprayed onto the trees. The strong winds of the valley cause cross contamination with other field crops growing amidst the orchards. Organic farmer Daniel Primisser is part of the counter movement to promote organic farming in the valley and also plants hemp for that purpose.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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In summer 2019 a group of leading outdoor industry experts met at the Italian MonViso Institute (MVI) in Ostana. Thought as a symbolic act, managers, LCI specialists, sustainability and strategy experts started to plant hemp seeds by hand. Most experienced this as a special moment, realizing how much work it is to till a field and seed plants. The planting couldn’t offset everyone’s long distance travel to the MVI, but it brought awareness to the topic of e-mobility, emissions caused by cars, trains and air travel. MonViso MVI, Ostana, Piemonte, Italy.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Archeological records show that the history of hemp in China goes back twelve thousand years. The first hemp plant evolved in Northern China at the dawn of civilization, and it is believed to be the first cultivated fiber plant. Ancient Chinese tales contain information about hemp’s existence as well. The plant was known as “Mágū”, which combines the Chinese character má (麻) with gū (姑), the name for a woman, or priestess. Today, the ideogram 麻 “má” is the simplified Chinese symbol for cannabis or hemp, and shows two cannabis leaves drying upside down under shelter. It is believed that the name is related to the old Persian word “Magus”, sorcerer or magician. The legend describes Magus as ruler over the balance of cosmic music and vibration. In Chinese literature, she is usually described as a pretty young woman with long fingernails. In Chinese art, she is represented as a young woman carrying a basket full of cannabis or peaches. Also according to legend, Mágū guarded Mount Tài Shān (Chinese: 泰山) in Shāndōng Province, where cannabis was traditionally collected on the seventh day of the seventh month.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Hemp and hops derive from the same family of plants and therefore have many similarities. Collection of the “Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum” Amsterdam-Barcelona.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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From the 1980s until 2020, Italian researcher Gianpaolo Grassi led the most renowned Italian research institute for the study of agricultural research, the Research Institute of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), and specialized in medical cannabis. The Institute is home to all research that seeks to secure the highest quality of medical cannabis for Italian patients. While he enjoys national and international popularity on the topic of his research and findings on industrial hemp and medical marijuana, his actual work is done away from the public eye. Fenced off by NATO wire and a tall iron-cast gate, CREA sits inconspicuously on the outskirts of Rovigo. One of the reasons for this secret setup, is the 1.2 tons of highest grade medical marijuana, stored on location, as a by-product of Gianpaolo’s research. The Italian military reserve the sole right to produce medical marijuana so Gianpaolo’s work is disguised. Every few months, soldiers come to pick up three-month old seedlings and clones from the mother plants that Grassi and his team have raised.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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1840-1937, hand-blown glass bottles from the Golden Age of Medicinal Cannabis. Archives of Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum, Amsterdam-Barcelona.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Carbonicola myrmecina, is a tiny lichen so important to determine the age and biodiversity of a forest, that its sole existence can stop the forest industry from clear-cutting the forest stand.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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Data Source: Keto-Tokoi, P., & Kuuluvainen,T. (2010). Suomalainen aarniometsä. Maahenki. Finland’s loss of primary forests as seen between 1000-2010.

© Maren Krings - Image from the H is for HEMP photography project

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When paper production shifted towards wood in the 18th century, it was unimaginable that this resource could run out. Yet the rising demand of a global population for paper and pulp derived products are greatly threatening forest ecosystems. A shift back to hemp as raw material for paper-based products would yield many advantages. The French cooperative La Chanvrière de l’Aube currently supplies a good part of the fibers that Hahnemühle paper manufacturer uses for their specialty hemp papers. La Chanvrière de l’Aube, Saint-Lyé, France.