Niki Hastings McFall and Lonnie Hutchinson

Works by Maori and Pacific artists Niki Hastings McFall and Lonnie Hutchinson draw on traditional art practices in a combined exhibition at the RH Gallery at Woollaston Estates. Both artists extend traditional boundaries into new mediums, infusing them with contemporary narratives.

Hutchinson investigates her dual Maori and Samoan heritage. She is equally comfortable with both cultures, and although she uses a lot of traditional cultural symbols in her work, she says she is still developing her own motifs. “It’s not that I am copying or appropriating symbols all the time. I’m developing my own visual language and that is really important for an artist,” she says.

Hastings McFall is influenced by cultural heritage and how it shapes identity. She uses modern materials to depict traditional ideals, alluding to her reality as an “urban Polynesian”, juxtaposing urban Aotearoa and the ancient Pacific.

Niki Hastings McFall and Lonnie Hutchinson

29 October - 8 December

RH Gallery at Woollaston Estates, Nelson