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1 From the Wall When the opportunity arose to embody the vision of The University of Auckland Business School on a 50m-long wall within the new home of the School itself, it was immediately apparent that something out of the ordinary was called for. That new home, the Owen G Glenn Building, is itself exceptional. Completed in 2008, the seven-storey, 34,000 square-metre complex for the fi rst time brought together under one roof the scattered parts of the School. It also gave staff and students an integrated, purpose-built structure housing state-of-the-art lecture theatres, computer labs, work rooms and social spaces clustered around a spectacular 26m-high atrium. More than that, the building stands as a place of convergence for business, academia and Government a collaborative, knowledge-rich environment within which to forge the capabilities that this country needs to compete in sophisticated global markets. The generous wall area earmarked for the project, and its location amid the School s bustling lecture theatres, invited a new way of engaging with audiences, one that resonated intellectually while adding its own visual excitement. To enhance the energy of the built environment, it was decided to mount the installation as a series of connected 1.5 m square glass panels. These were backlit to heighten the sense of occasion created by the architectural space itself and to introduce within it a vibrant colour palette. Having got the attention of students and visitors, it was important that the panel content itself was compelling and that it clearly articulated the values and goals of the Business School. To achieve this, the installation was conceived as a strongly visual exploration of the ideas that, from the moment Māori and Europeans fi rst met, have shaped and driven the country s economy. This takes the form of a wall of stories through which New Zealand enterprise is celebrated. Equally, those narratives form a graphic history of ideas, collectively charting the evolution of the business concepts that helped transform the country from a struggling nineteenth century colony into a prosperous twenty-fi rst century South Pacifi c nation. 7

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3 Rather than presenting a condensed timeline of business history, the installation attempts to reveal the toolkit of business attitudes and ideas that were brought to bear in the work of nation building: self-reliance, the drive to innovate, a liking for collaboration and a willingness to take risks. And all this in a context of relentless technical advances, globalisation, the proliferation of knowledge and the imperatives of business growth. Paradigm shifts are there too, among them the new science of service, the rise of global brands, the marketing of nature, the reassertion of culture and the arrival of the weightless economy. The panels trace the emergence and interplay of these themes as Māori and early European settlers engaged fi rst in the business of earning a living from the land, then in adapting to an increasingly complex global economy ingeniously fashioning things from what lay near at hand, then harnessing the limitless power of the imagination to mint innovative new products and services by manipulating everything from electronic data to the information embedded in animal and plant DNA. Featuring vanguard companies in a range of industries, the installation employs quotes, images and sharp text to chart New Zealand s evolution into a land of confi dent, creative enterprises making their mark on the world stage. Ordered chronologically, it tracks shifts of emphasis, from the creation of a national economy built on extractive industries to the honing of business fundamentals and, fi nally, to the consolidation of national identity, the emergence of new talents and nurture of the enterprises of tomorrow. While the panels needed to communicate clearly, it was also important that they rewarded repeat viewing. They were therefore designed in such a way that they withheld some information until studied more closely. The creation of layers within the panels engaging imagery, themes condensed into single words, short phrases or telling quotes, smaller images and fi nally narratives incorporated into blocks of smaller type created a sense of drilling down into the fabric of business history while suggesting the possibility of an endless series of unseen panels that might amplify what was in front of the viewer. 9

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5 The approach is evident in the very fi rst panel, where nineteenth century whaling is made to stand for all the extractive industries that characterised early colonial life and fostered the collaborative instincts of Māori and Europeans alike. It is fi tting that the world s fi rst truly global industry should reach its zenith as New Zealand, one of the last regions on earth to be settled, began making its way in the world. Smaller pictorial elements in the panel reveal the United Tribes Ensign (1834) as the country s fi rst fl ag of trade and display orange roughy, a species valued today as was the whale a century and a half earlier, and harvested by a company that treaty settlements have given Māori joint control over. Such parallels and departures, accumulations and reiterations are encountered time and again throughout the panel series. It is as though behind the swirl of text and images the current of a common past, a shared national identity and an unshakeable economic reality can be sensed. At the opposite end of the installation, a panel records how technology is helping bridge the barrier of distance and binding New Zealand closer to the heart of a global economy. Finally, the conceptual view expands toward the horizon, suggesting the endless possibilities that await a new generation of entrepreneurs and professionals. Suddenly, we have completed a conceptual loop which brings us back to whaling and the wiring of New Zealand into the world. Where the vast enterprise of building a nation began, and where here and now, as always, it must be endlessly renewed. 11

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7 The University of Auckland Business School s 50m-long installation: an unfolding mosaic of New Zealand business achievement. 13

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9 The Panels The following pages present the business wall story panels individually and in their original sequence. Not all of the panels are shown in their entirety. 15