Welcome to UNITY - Lissy & Rudi - Wheku Tondo Series

Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole

Lissy (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu) and Rudi (Taranaki, Ngāti Pāoa, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa) Robinson-Cole are a Tāmaki Makaurau-based wife and husband artist duo whose collaborative practice reimagines traditional Māori forms through vivid colour and fibre. Known for their large-scale crochet works, including the internationally touring Wharenui Harikoa, their mahi is grounded in mātauranga Māori, whakapapa, and the transformative power of joy.

Working primarily in crochet and drawing, their kaupapa is to manifest intergenerational healing, connection, and aroha — one loop, one line, and one bold colour at a time. Their art is both contemporary and ancestral: a radiant expression of their shared vision to ignite joy and uplift the spirit.

Wheku Tondo Series

Hand-drawn directly onto round wooden tondo forms, these vibrant wheku are an extension of our crochet practice — another way of looping our tīpuna into the present. Just as each crochet stitch is a deliberate act of connection, each line in these drawings is laid down with intention, breath, and aroha.

The circular form represents wholeness, unity, and the never-ending thread between past and present. These wheku carry the same energy as our fibre works — bold, joyful, and deeply rooted in whakapapa. They are not static portraits but living expressions of the faces that guide us, protect us, and inspire us to keep creating in colour, in rhythm, and in light.