While drawing lies at the heart of Lonnie Hutchinson’s practice she is perhaps best known for her cutouts using black builders paper to create a delicate interplay of space, light and shadow. Lonnie draws on a range of influences from contemporary advertising and popular culture to Polynesian aesthetics and art forms; and, the rich cultural resources of her Polynesian heritage.
In a career spanning over 30 years Lonnie has built an international reputation having been awarded a number of residencies and exhibiting around the globe. In recent times she has been engaged in a number of large scale public commissions, most recently the Justice and Emergency Precinct in Christchurch. She was the first female recipient of the MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies residency at the University of Canterbury and the first International Indigenous Art Residency at the Banff Art Centre in Canada. In 2015 Lonnie was awarded the Creative New Zealand Pasifika Contemporary Artist Award.