Liberate Hemp!
How can we ditch the prejudice against this plant in the light of the climate crisis? From ‘Cannabis Culture’ to ‘Climate Hero’; hemp re-perceived.
Hemp the plant. Hemp is an incredibly useful plant and can be used to make anything from rope, cloth, carbon-neutral housing, bio-plastics and food. It sequesters more carbon than trees yet is virtually banned in the UK, it being a cousin of the more potent Marijuana plant. This project explored the amazing history of Hemp and looked at how the political landscape has shaped its fortunes.
Re-valuing Hemp. Working with campaign groups, farmers and scientists we explored every aspect of hemp, particularly the potential value of the crop in the context of the climate crisis. This project took place in the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and COP26 being held in the UK so we decided to make a replica of the coronation crown entirely using hemp. The audience was encouraged to question our notion of value. Why are the inert rocks of the coronation crown valued at £4 billion whilst we ban a crop that could make significant contributions to reducing our carbon emissions?
Hemp crown - 100% hemp
Climate Queen
Re-perceiving Hemp. The project also focused on the ‘baggage’ that comes with Hemp. Hemp is a member of the ‘Sativa’ family and closely resemblances Marijuana. Its distinctive leaf shape brings connotations of ‘Cannabis Culture’ and this may be why it is still controlled by the Home Office (ie a threat) rather than treated as any other agricultural crop (a commodity). If we could genetically re-engineer the plant to look different, could we re-perceive it to be the climate hero it potentially is?
We made a life-size hemp plant using an 8-foot velcro wall and laser-cut felt pieces. People were challenged to ‘genetically re-engineer’ the plant to make it look different by re-arranging the pieces.
Hemp
Hemp reconfigured