In the early 1980s, the government implemented a Think Big strategy, using foreign loans to fund large industrial projects such as the Clyde Dam and an expanded oil refinery at Marsden Point. Around this time Marilynn Webb was commissioned by the Dowse Art Museum to create work for a food-themed exhibition. In response she created the Taste Before Eating series: a cookbook for the government that playfully adapted the style of popular Aunt Daisy recipes to comment on projects that would have devastating environmental consequences. Aramoana Soup was a protest against the proposed new aluminium smelter at Aramoana in the Otago Harbour, and the recipe was made as an installation outside the Dowse. Mining Crumble relates to mining at Mahinerangi in Central Otago, an area that Webb had strong connections to.

He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)