Join curator of the fundamental practice Natasha Conland for four free lunchtime talks exploring the ideas behind the exhibition. Starting Thursday 15 October at 12:45pm, each 30-minute session offers a unique insight into the exhbition.

Each week, Natasha will focus on a different idea or part of the exhibition. The talks are a chance to discover new ways of looking at the work and ask questions about it.

The talks are free, but spaces are limited to 20 people, so we recommend booking ahead. You are welcome to keep exploring the exhibition after the event.

Book now

 

Where to meet

Meet in the level 2 foyer, where Natasha will greet the group before taking you into the exhibition. If you need help finding it, ask a Gallery assistant for directions.

the fundamental practice

Presented in Aotearoa for the first time since its 2005 debut at the Venice Biennale, this 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. 

As they move, computer-animated voices emerge from the units, espousing a range of human beliefs. Each unit carries oblique signs and numbers, as if part of an otherwise coherent group activity, factory, institution or even a new religion. 

Acquired for the Gallery’s collection in 2008, the fundamental practice remains one of the most significant and debated works in recent New Zealand art history. 

Find out more

Natasha Conland

Natasha has 20 years' experience developing exhibitions of contemporary art. She writes for several contemporary arts journals and catalogues in the Asia Pacific region and co-edited Reading Room, a peer-reviewed journal of contemporary art published by the Gallery’s E H McCormick Research Library. Her curatorial projects include Louise Bourgeois: In Private View (2025–26), Aotearoa Contemporary (2024), Groundswell: Avant Garde Auckland: 1971–79 (2018), Shout Whisper Wail (2017) and Necessary Distraction: A Painting Show (2016). She has diverse interests which include art in public spaces and the dissemination of the historic avant-garde.