Activating Photographic Mana Rangatiratanga Through Kōrero

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Abstract

Robertson considers viewer–image relationships in te ao Māori (the Māori world), exploring how photographs may ‘carry’ spiritually as taonga (treasured things) that are living embodiments of tīpuna (ancestors). Accordingly, kōrero (forms of oratory)—including speaking, lamenting, hongi (sharing breath) and touching—keep warm photographs of people, things and places that are important to Māori. This offers a much-needed point of difference to a Eurocentric notion of photography that is sometimes segmented off from its referent. Robertson references Māori language activist Huirangi Waikerepuru, asserting a photographic mana rangatiratanga (authority and self-determination) resonating with sovereignty concepts. This opens up a multi-layered relationship to perception over time that relates to indigenous concepts about time and space.

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Art & DesignAuckland University of TechnologyAucklandNew Zealand

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