Lonnie Hutchinson & Cora-Allan Wickliffe
Pacific Samplers
16 September 2020 - 10 October 2020
Needlework samplers are a reflection of Western education from a time when needle work and embroidery were considered essential skills. Pacific Samplers speak to a different tradition and the universality across the Pacific of the making and decoration of tapa cloth. Referencing sampler practices, the artists have, through their own individual ‘fine craft’ practices, created a suite of works that engage with aspects of passing down cultural knowledge and skills. Inspired by recent visits to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the pair use Pacific Samplers as a playful opportunity to share how pieces from the archives motivated new developments in their work.

Cora-Allan Wickliffe is a multi-disciplinary artist and curator of Maori and Niuean descent. A contemporary practitioner of the Niuean tradition of barkcloth known as hiapo, she is credited with reviving the “sleeping artform” which has not been practised in Niue for several generations. Her ‘samplers’ show her skill and draw attention to hiapo’s components - white cloth (unlike the tan ground of the cloth prevalent across much of Polynesia) and the decorative elements - delicate botanical drawings and abstract patterns. Unlike lots of women across the Pacific, Wickliffe was unable to learn her craft sitting alongside older women and has had to research and teach herself. Her work is very important to the Niuean community and has been exhibited in Australia, Aotearoa, England and Niue. She has already had a sell-out exhibition in New Zealand and her work is in the collections of Te Papa and Auckland Museum. Wickliffe has a Masters in Visual Art and Design from AUT.

Hutchinson's new work has been inspired by seeing cut-outs made in tapa cloth clothing in the museum. Here her distinctive black builder's paper is replaced by densely patterned wall paper and her signature dextrous cutting techniques are shown in bright new multi-coloured works. A senior artist of Maori and Samoan heritage, Hutchinson works across a wide range of media including film, performance, painting, sculpture and installation to articulate and advance a Polynesian world view. She has exhibited nationally and internationally for over two decades and has been included in several major international exhibitions of Pacific art. A survey exhibition was held in Auckland and Lower Hutt in 2015 and another major exhibition is planned for Christchurch Art Gallery in 2021. She has also produced several major, temporary and permanent, site-specific installations - most recently for the new justice precinct in Christchurch.
Installation view 1
Installation view 1
More or less transparent
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, acrylic, ink, shellac, metal eyelets
398 x 855mm
More or less transparent
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, acrylic, ink, shellac, metal eyelets
398 x 855mm
Mangaia talking
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, nail polish, metal eyelets
540 x 540 mm
Mangaia talking
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, nail polish, metal eyelets
540 x 540 mm
Tohu for Papa
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
builders paper, acrylic, metal eyelets
560 x 200 x 80 mm
Tohu for Papa
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
builders paper, acrylic, metal eyelets
560 x 200 x 80 mm
Installation view 2
Installation view 2
Pacific Sampler 2: Hiapo
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
2000 x 700mm
Pacific Sampler 2: Hiapo
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
2000 x 700mm
Mangaia calling
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, metal eyelets
800 x 500 mm
Mangaia calling
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, metal eyelets
800 x 500 mm
Hiapo Sampler #1
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
320 x 290 mm
Hiapo Sampler #1
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
320 x 290 mm
Hiapo Sampler #3
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
270 x 270 mm
Hiapo Sampler #3
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
270 x 270 mm
Hiapo Sampler #2
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
370 x 290 mm
Hiapo Sampler #2
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
370 x 290 mm
Pacific Sampler 1: Hiapo
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
2000 x 700mm
Pacific Sampler 1: Hiapo
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
2000 x 700mm
Installation view 3
Installation view 3
Lanu meamata lanu meamata
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, metal eyelets
855 x 385 mm
Lanu meamata lanu meamata
2020
Lonnie Hutchinson
wall paper, metal eyelets
855 x 385 mm
Hiapo Sampler #4
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
320 x 270 mm
Hiapo Sampler #4
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
320 x 270 mm
Hiapo Sampler #5
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
400 x 290 mm
Hiapo Sampler #5
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
400 x 290 mm
Hiapo Sampler #6
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
430 x 280 mm
Hiapo Sampler #6
2020
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
handmade hiapo traditional pigments
430 x 280 mm