How I Work: Artist & Food Historian Tasha Marks

Tasha Marks has created ornate edible sculptures and scented installations for the Barbican, the V&A and the Wellcome Collection. We talk to her about using food as an artistic medium and bringing a sense of fun and spectacle to museums

For her latest project, Tasha Marks is working with sculptor Robert Erskine to create a bronze artwork that smells like human breast milk. Commissioned for the Wellcome Collection’s new exhibition, Being Human, 5318008 is designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia – conjuring fond memories of motherhood and newborn babies – while also teaching visitors about microbiomes and infection.

It’s the latest in a series of fun and imaginative artworks from Marks, who creates multi-sensory experiences for some of London’s biggest museums and galleries. Drawing on historical research, and her perfume and confectionary-making skills, she uses taste, touch and smell to bring exhibitions to life. Over the past few years, she has created everything from scented ceramics to still lifes and intricate sugar sculptures, as well as installations combining custom soundscapes and aromas.

Marks was introduced to food history at university. She worked with experiential food studio Bompas & Parr after graduating and founded her own business, AVM Curiosities, in 2011. Here, she talks to CR about unearthing interesting stories from the past, coming up with fantastical concepts and making museum shows more inclusive.