Aotearoa New Zealand has a long tradition of environmental protest, often centred on the shoreline and with artists at the forefront. Aramoana, near the entrance to Otago Harbour, was proposed as the site of a large aluminium smelter by a New Zealand and foreign-owned consortium in the 1970s. The Save Aramoana Campaign was formed in 1974 and involved many well-known artists. The smelter proposal was eventually abandoned and the saltmarshes designated as a reserve.In 1982,

Andrew Drummond’s 1980 performance Filter Action, Aramoana referenced the area’s importance as a filter bed. By burying a sheep kidney in the saltmarshes, he connected them with the body’s own filtering mechanism.

(Te Wheke, 2020)