Bringing Light Home: The Birth of Heartfelt
It’s not every day you get the chance to be part of a massive light art project—especially one born out of a global pandemic.
In 2020, with New Zealand fresh out of COVID lockdowns, the team behind Queenstown’s annual LUMA Southern Light Project had a tough call to make. Their usual garden show couldn’t go ahead due to social distancing and restrictions on large gatherings. But rather than cancel the magic altogether, they pivoted—and something truly special happened.
The idea was sparked by a few locals (including my neighbour Cassie), who thought: what if we brought the light home? What if our communities lit up our own houses and neighbourhoods? LUMA embraced the concept and sprinkled it across the district, adding their signature flair with larger installations at key locations.
Where we live, there’s a giant square roundabout—and Paul Inga from Shipleys was setting up some serious lighting in the centre of it. I happened to bump into him by chance, and he asked if I had an idea for something that could go in the middle. Without missing a beat, I knew exactly who to call: my creative partner-in-crime, Kylie Burnell.
Kylie didn’t need long. She dreamed up Heartfelt—a sculpture of a hand gently holding a suspended heart, a symbol of how our community held one another during such a challenging time. We had just two days to bring this vision to life. It was our very first major project together, and we were all in.
Kylie, being a passionate gardener, suggested using fresh branches from the weeping willow to weave the shape of the hand—flexible, golden, and full of life. For the heart, we chose vibrant red dogwood. A bit of chicken wire, a whole lot of creativity, and an intense 48 hours later, we’d done it. A glowing hand, holding a heart, rose from the centre of the roundabout for everyone to see. It was raw, real, and full of meaning.
The response was incredible. LUMA loved the piece so much, they offered us funding and connected us with The Metal Farm, who helped us build a more permanent version for the 2021 Queenstown Gardens LUMA experience. The heart in the hand found a new home—bigger, stronger, and just as heartfelt.
That same year, we also had a bit of whimsical fun—dressing up as characters from Alice in Wonderland with a group of our beautiful friends, bringing a touch of magic and playfulness to the whole adventure.
Heartfelt will always be more than just a sculpture to us. It’s a memory of community, creativity, and resilience—proof that even in the hardest times, art can bring us together.
It went from this in 2020 and 48 hours
To this in the pond at Queenstown Gardens 2021
And a snippet of Alice in Wonderland
Kylie and I
