et al.’s the fundamental practice at Auckland Art Gallery

The multisensory installation combines five moving ‘autonomous systems’ with computer-generated voices and sounds in a dystopian orchestra. The work forms a layered exploration of belief systems, extremism, and its influence on individual freedom and collective life.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Director of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Dr Zara Stanhope says the exhibition provides visitors the opportunity to experience a major work in New Zealand contemporary art history.

“the fundamental practice is one of the gallery’s most significant large-scale collection works. While it became the focus of significant public debate when it was first presented at Venice, many New Zealanders have never had the opportunity to see the work in person, and experience the way it raises curiosity about the ways we understand the world that we live in.”

The artists et al. say the work raises questions about how we navigate the ongoing and intensifying stream of information and media that shapes our lives today: “Can we as humanity endeavor to establish a point of equanimity within the diverse and often oppositional streams of thought we encounter on a daily basis?”

Auckland Art Gallery senior curator, Natasha Conland, who curated the work’s original presentation at the Venice Biennale, says it feels more relevant today than it did when it was first shown 20 years ago.

“The work resonates today in a world shaped by widening social divisions, rapidly changing technologies, and increasingly fixed belief systems. In this context, the fundamental practice shares diverse perspectives and potential futures, set amongst outmoded machinery. Far from pessimistic, the experience of the work is in many ways speculative and poetic.”