Plants and Soil

In this artist's book, limited to 400 copies, photographer and researcher Simon Hempel examines how object constellations create atmospheres, how these atmospheres are perceived, and what their consequences are. In a series approach, developed over time, Hempel photographs a giant topiary peacock and its surrounding flowerbeds in a Hamburg public garden. The apparently mundane subject illustrates the complex processes and flux that constitute space, while its serial presentation helps form a stark, internalised mental image that is perfectly complemented by the book's graceful and Spartan design.