Landscape with a bleeding rainbow 2

Landscape with a bleeding rainbow 2

He wāhanga tēnei tānga nō tētehi terenga i whakaputaina hei urupare atu i ngā mahi whakamātautau pahū karihi i Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa. I roto i tēnei mahi, ka kitea tētehi kapua he ōrite ki te harore te hanga i runga i ngā hiwi ki pāmaomao, ka mimiti ki te pae o te whakaahua, ā, ka maringi ki ngā tongi i te paepae o raro. Ka hua mai tētehi āniwaniwa, i āta peitahia, i roto i te kapua.

Ka tūhura tonu a Webb i tana tohu e kīia nei ko ‘te āniwaniwa hūtoto’ i te roanga o ngā tau 1970 ki te 1980. I te roanga o tēnei wā, ka tohea te tupu o te rongo o Aotearoa mō te mahi karihi me ngā mahi hanganga rahi, pērā i te mahi rewa tokahuke ki Clyde Dam me Aramoana, i tūkino i te mauri o te pūnaha hauropi e pātata ana ki tōna kāinga.

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This print is part of a series that were produced in response to French nuclear testing in the Pacific. In this work, a mushroom-like formation of clouds imposes itself over distant hills, receding into the picture plane, and spilling over the boundaries of the lower plate. A delicately hand-coloured rainbow emerges from within the cloud-form.

Webb would continue to explore the ‘bleeding rainbow’ motif throughout the 1970s and 80s. Throughout this time debates about Aotearoa’s nuclear status developed, and large-scale infrastructure projects, including the Clyde Dam and Aramoana smelter project, threatened the delicate ecosystem close to her home.

— Text developed for Te Hau Whakatonu: A Series of Never-ending Beginnings (5 August 2023–11 February 2024), curated by Taarati Taiaroa