Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
shadow shaper, jonathan smart gallery, Christchurch, 2025
The light-absorbing blackness of Lonnie Hutchinson's signature builder's paper and powder-coated aluminum evokes Polynesian creation narratives. In Te Ao Māori, these are expressed as Te Kore (the great nothingness) and Te Pō (the perpetual night)—states of latent being and potential where consciousness gradually stirs within darkness. The appearance of light awakens Te Ao Mārama (the world of light and life) where we exist.
Kotahitanga, page Galleries, Wellington, 2025
Like many tangata whenua, Hutchinson's whakapapa (Ngāti kuri ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan (Faleilili), Celtic) is an expression of kotahitanga. Linguistically, kotahitanga contains 'tahi,' the reo for 'one,' which develops into 'kotahi' meaning 'single' or 'one in particular,' and further extends to 'kotahitanga,' typically expressed in English as 'unity.' From the basic concept of 'tahi,' a complex understanding of unity emerges, bringing with it an entire value system.
Ahu Tīmataka: Trace Elements, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, 2021
Kawakawa is the most important healing herb in the traditional form of plant-based medicine practiced by Māori, known as rongoā. Ahu Tīmataka / Trace Elements brings together rongoā plantings on the Gallery’s forecourt and cut-out works in an exhibition space upstairs.
