Cirrus@Austlit

'Visual anthropology and the anthropology of the visual generate a strong interest in various domains such as academia, museums, cultural institutions, and festivals. As crucial means to study “what is not visual in human society” (MacDougall 2004), they offer an invitation akin to that of Indigenous studies to move beyond disciplinary boundaries as well as “to reveal and accept the complexity of knowledge intersections” (Nakata 2004: 13). Through the analysis of how different visual, textual, and performative materials are constructed and circulate, this issue aims to reflect and prolong the dialogues established by its contributors across the disciplines, beyond academia, and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It includes contributions from scholars – some of whom are also filmmakers, artists, poets, educators, and curators – who are Indigenous or have worked with Indigenous people for at least a decade (in some cases several decades), and who have produced visual materials as a result of these collaborations. This issue interrogates and provides examples of how to incorporate new decolonising, emancipating or empowering knowledge and approaches into academic, visual, and cultural productions. It also examines the challenge tackled by most authors to engage new audiences and create bridges between societies while respecting Indigenous protocols and codes of ethics. The contributions were developed as part of the Research Project “TransOceanik: Interactive Research, Mapping, and Creative Agency in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic”, an international collaboration (Laboratoire International Associé, 2012-2015) between the French National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS-LAS) and James Cook University/The Cairns Institute.' (Publication abstract)