H is for HEMP

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.