사진작가가 하늘에서 본 네덜란드 LED 온실 재배하우스 VIDEO: Photographers Take to the Sky to Capture Holland’s LED Greenhouses

Interview: Photographers Take to the Sky to Capture Holland’s LED Greenhouses

By Jessica Stewart on November 29, 2019

German aerial photographer Tom Hegen has dedicated his craft to exploring the impact that humans have on the natural world. For better or worse, his work shows how we have shaped the environment and made changes that are often irreparable. His latest journey into the sky saw him photographing Holland’s LED greenhouses, which have allowed The Netherlands to remain a formidable force in food production and export.

 

사진작가가 하늘에서 본 네덜란드 LED 온실 재배하우스     독일의 항공 사진작가 톰 헤겐은 인간이 자연계에 미치는 영향을 탐구하는 데 그의 기술을 바쳤다. 좋든 나쁘든 간에, 그의 작품은 우리가 어떻게 환경을 형성해왔는지 그리고 종종 돌이킬 수 없는 변화를 만들어냈는지를 보여준다.  그의 최근 하늘 여행에서 그는 네덜란드가 식량 생산과 수출에서 가공할 위력을 유지할 수 있게 해준 홀랜드의 LED 온실 사진을 찍는 것을 보았다. 이 빛나는 구조물들을 공중 촬영함으로써 헤겐은 이 기술의 아름다움과 신비를 보여준다. 그가 우리에게 재빨리 상기시켜 주었기 때문에, 대부분의 사람들은 왜 일년 내내 갑자기 딸기를 먹을 수 있는지 곰곰이 생각해보기 위해 그들의 음식이 실제로 어디에서 왔는지 깨닫지 못하거나 멈춘다. 헤겐은 하늘로 데려가면서 세상이 어떻게 먹는지에 큰 영향을 미치고 있는 그다지 비밀스럽지 않은 비밀을 폭로한다. 그 사진들은 그 구조물에 대한 예술적인 시각이며, 그들의 판단은 중립적이었다. 아름다운 액자를 가진 각각의 이미지는 인간에 의해 인위적으로 형성된 풍경을 잘 볼 수 있다. 이 시리즈는 인간이 지구의 지질학 및 생태계에 미치는 중요한 영향을 나타내는 제안된 지질학 시대인 인류학(Androphocene)에 대한 헤겐의 탐색을 확장한 것이다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor, curator

edited by kcontents

By photographing these glowing giants, Hegen shows the beauty and mystery of this technology. As he is quick to remind us, most people don’t realize where their food is actually coming from or stop to ponder why they are able to suddenly eat strawberries year-round. In taking to the sky, Hegen reveals a not-so-secret secret that is having a huge impact on how the world eats.

The photographs themselves are an artistic look at the structures, remaining neutral in their judgment. Beautifully framed, each image is a masterful look at a landscape artificially shaped by humans. The series is an extension of Hegen searching into the Anthropocene, a proposed geological era that marks man’s significant impact on the Earth’s geology and ecosystem.

We had a chance to speak with Hegen about LED greenhouses and their role in the world’s food chain, as well as his experience photographing this new technology. Read on for My Modern Met’s exclusive interview.

How did you first hear about Holland’s LED Greenhouses?

I was reading a story about food development in a science magazine and got introduced to the idea of cultivating plants in LED-lit greenhouses. I was wondering how these greenhouses may look in the dark, if they are covered, and how they integrate into the surrounding environment. All this made it appealing for me to visit the area.

How do they fit into your overall work about how humans are shaping the planet?

As mentioned earlier, my work is based around the topic of the Anthropocene. One of the main questions that will affect our future life on earth will be: how can we feed the ever-growing world population with shrinking resources?

According to the United Nations, the world’s population will grow from today’s 7.5 billion people to 10 billion in 2050. And as natural resources like farmland and water become scarce, feeding the world will become an even greater challenge. These indoor farms are a prototype to experiment on how to maximize the yield with little space and limited resources.

What were your first impressions of seeing them from the sky?

Seeing the glow of the greenhouses shining into the sky and reflecting against the clouds made for scenery that I had never seen before. It almost looked like UFOs had landed and parked closely together.

What are, in your opinion, the positives and negatives of this technology?

The indoor gardens provide growing conditions for plants like tomatoes, peppers, or strawberries around the clock and in every kind of weather, which doubles the average yield of an outdoor farm. The Netherlands is the globe’s number two exporter of food as measured by value, second only to the United States, which has 270 times its landmass. The Dutch have created the most advanced area in the world for controlled environment agriculture and have become world leaders in agricultural innovation.

However, there are also consequences this growing method brings with it, like light pollution or growing crops out of season and shipping them around the world so that people can eat strawberries year-round. Ordinances have been developed in which up to 98% of the electric lighting must be contained within a greenhouse facility by using blackout screens and curtains along the sides and roofs.

How did these structures stimulate your creativity?

The contrast of bright colors in the dark night made them very eye-catching. This is actually also my first project where I didn’t just shoot straight down. I wanted to show how these greenhouses reach up to the horizon.

Why do you think it’s important that the public is aware of these greenhouses?

Most fruits and vegetables that we find in our supermarkets are available in enormous amounts and all year round. This is a luxury that we take for granted. We don’t even ask where it comes from, how it grows, and what it takes to grow. A great number of tomatoes that we see in stores have never touched any natural soil or rain. Showing these places makes the circle of the food chain more transparent.

What do you hope people take away from the images?

I want to sensitize the viewer about what it takes to keep our luxury living standards. These photos are for me a mirror of society, economy, and technology.

What’s coming up next?

At the moment I am in Spain, starting to work on my new aerial photography book. It will be a long-term project with a body of work centering again around human interventions in nature. The book will be likely to be published in 2021.

 

Tom Hegen: Website | Instagram | Behance 

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Tom Hegen.

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