Threaded Edition 21: Exploring Māori creation narratives with augmented reality-animated sonic experiences in publication design

Abstract

In this article, we present the creative strategies implemented on the practice-based research project Threaded Edition 21, an international design magazine published in Aotearoa New Zealand. The editorial model draws from a cultural and collaborative framework situated in Tikanga (customary practices of the Indigenous people of New Zealand), Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and kawa (protocols). In this Special Edition, the structural format was inspired by Māori Maramataka (lunar cycles) and whakapapa (genealogy), and incorporated queues to communicate the multi-layered Māori creation narrative of Te Kore (nothingness), Te Pō (night realms and darkness), Te Whē Ao (coming in to being) and Te Ao Mārama (light realms). These narratives resided primarily in the virtual realm of augmented reality (AR) (as a spiritual encounter), while the printed matter functioned as an enigmatic vessel, creating an ontological reversal where the ‘virtual’ (AR) answered to the ambiguities of ‘real’ (publication). AR-animated vignettes and sonic artistry were activated through printed motifs to incorporate hau (breath of life) into the pages. The AR-animated sonic experience expanded the connection with the audience that when synthesized, provided a sense of immersion into the domain of the unseen which is felt aurally and visually. Structurally, the AR pages open with a chanted karakia (a welcoming prayer) and end with a mihi (closing speech), creating a balance that acknowledges aspects of Māori cultural significance and dualities. When scanned, the AR-animated sonic experiences direct the audience to the accessibility of the Instagram platform, expanding the materiality of printed matter. This approach afforded distinct modes of cognitive processing that combined the visual and the linguistic, the spatial and the temporal, sound and virtual reality to graphically symbolize the many layers and dimensions of things unseen: the realm between being and non-being.