Lonnie Hutchinson (Ngāti kuri ki Ngāi Tahu, Samoan (Faleilili), Celtic)

Lonnie Hutchinson is a highly respected contemporary artist and has a long history of exhibitions and public commissions. For Cordis Auckland, she has created an extensive suite of works that provide a consistent narrative, which infuses the hotel spaces with works that express the unique natural beauty of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Central to Hutchinson’s work for Cordis Auckland is a major wall work entitled *Hīkoi Ngahere *(2021), which spans the connecting spaces between the original hotel building and the new Pinnacle Tower. Created from cut-out, powder coated steel forms, the work is a nature walk that emphasises the landscape of Tāmaki Makaurau, including the native flora of Papatuanuku (earth), Tangaroa (sea), the significant maunga (mountains and extinct volcanos), and the many puna (springs), streams, waterfalls and tributaries that criss-cross the isthmus.

Hutchinson’s work connects the viewer with the landscape, mythology and symbolism of Te Ao Māori and Aotearoa. Her intricate designs are informed by the Māori art of kōwhaiwhai and tukutuku designs that are translations and reflections of the natural world. An image of the Pacific Frigate Bird greets the guest as they journey from reception to their room. As a symbol of home, the Pacific Frigate Bird has special significance for Pacific navigators; they are a tohu (sign) that land is near, that home is near. The designs below the frigate bird are tāniko patterns (Māori weaving design) that refer to the pursuit of knowledge and, in this context, they form the pepeha (genealogical links to land). Other motifs include the numerous extinct volcanic cones and inland waterways that criss-cross the land.

Present across many of the panels is the shape of the whai (stingray), which references Hape, who is the namesake of nearby Karangahape Road. Hape was an ancient figure in Māori mythology who was said to possess magical powers. Having been denied passage to Aotearoa because of his club foot, he incanted a karakia in which he called to Tangaroa (Māori god of the sea), who sent him a huge whai that would carry him over the oceans to Aotearoa. 

The artwork also references the proliferation of fish and bird life that inhabits the waterways and forests of Tāmaki Makaurau. The kawakawa plant (medicinal/ceremonial plant) and hue vine (gourd vine) are referenced for their intrinsic qualities and as metaphors for care and kindness. The final section of this work features a very old and traditional kōwhaiwhai (Māori pattern) design, the kape rua, which refers to the abundance, plentiful resources that are found in the natural world of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Lonnie Hutchinson extracts elements from this vast, lyrical wall work and composes them in a suite of screen prints that occupy the guest rooms and the Event Space. This ensures that every guest has the opportunity to become part of Hutchinson’s Hīkoi Ngahere, which welcomes and heals the visitor in this generous sharing of kaupapa and story from Tāmaki Makaurau.

Selected photography: Sam Hartnett. Images courtesy of the artist.