HUTCHINSON, Lonnie, 1963-
Cry Me a River, triptych (Pacific)
Made out of bitumen-impregnated paper, this
cruet set of concertina fans won’t cool anyone off.
Hanging like three little piupiu on the wall,
patterned by kowhaiwhai shapes and titled after
an American torch song, the installed work gives
a wave in the direction of the artist’s Ngai Tahu
ancestry while fanning the flames of land loss
grievance. Contributing to a content trickling
down from the Māori love story explaining the
origin of the Waiau and Clarence Rivers in the
South Island, the artist works the construction
association inherent in her material. Once called
tar paper, the basic black builder’s paper cut-out
is simultaneously doing steel-capped heavy duty
and pirouetting as lightweight decoration. It is
meant to form a waterproof membrane in a roof
or walls but, carved up by a stanley knife, it
makes an alluring play of light and shadows.