(De)hydrate by Henry Hargreaves

When New Zealand-based artist Henry Hargreaves heard a health professional call soda “the cigarettes of our generation”, he wanted to find a way to represent the risk visually.

He decided to show what happens after the water in a drink is boiled away. Once boiled, he then took the remaining substance, a mixture of sugar, colouring and other byproducts, and poured it into a silicon lollipop mould. “I thought lollipops were the perfect fit because to me that’s what a soft drink is; it’s kind of a lollipop dressed up as a soda, or a kind of adult lollipop.