Te Uru is pairing two highly acclaimed artists in a new exhibition, Relative Reciprocity, 24 June – 27 August, to coincide with Matariki celebrations. This exhibition brings together to the work of Lonnie Hutchinson and Reuben Paterson to explore the recurring aesthetic, political and spiritual use of light and darkness that runs through their work.

Hutchinson (Ngāi Tahu, Samoan) and Paterson (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Rangitihi, Scottish) are renowned contemporaries; two artists who have firmly embedded Māori and Polynesian world-views and visual languages into their practices.

Lonnie Hutchinson’s practice recalls Māori and Polynesian craft and decorative histories to explore how spaces are defined and distributed, with a particular interest in spaces that occupy a middle ground between time, people and place. Though she is most well known for her decorative cut-outs made from black builders paper, Hutchinson’s practice spans many disciplines, from architecture to sculpture to digital animation.

Reuben Paterson’s work, from paintings to large-scale public installations, is immediately recognisable for his use of glitter and diamond dust. These materials are deployed by Paterson not just as a playful transformation of recognisable decorative motifs — including kōwhaiwhai patterns, retro floral textile designs, and geometric tessellations — but also a deliberate exploration of glitter’s optical potential and the socio-political connotations of sparkly adornment. 

However, the exhibition isn’t a simple case of black and white. On the topic of blackness, writer Stephanie Oberg notes, “if we've learnt anything from painters like McCahon and Hotere, it is that where there is light (and white), there are many, many shades and reflections of blackness.”

Both Hutchinson and Paterson are aware of the breadth of meanings connected to black, from its significance in mythology to its use in both protest movements and pop culture and the niggling relationship between blackness and race. Light too has its own range of qualities. It’s the interplay between light and dark – and the continuum that exists between – that the exhibitions most fully embrace, from the suspended spark of a firework to the glimpses of light that exist between form.

Relative Reciprocity features new works made this year by both artists. In addition to showing work within the gallery, Hutchinson and Paterson will also be featured in Te Uru’s window space, a street-facing gallery space visible throughout the day and night.

Relative Reciprocity runs at Te Uru from 24 June – 27 August
Opening: Saturday 24 June, 4pm

Lonnie Hutchinson and Reuben Paterson will give an artist talk on Saturday 24 June at 3pm preceding the official opening celebrations from 4pm.

Hours: 10am – 4.30pm daily
Address: 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland
Website: www.teuru.org.nz