Kaleidoscopic vision: immersive experiments in maritime worlds

Abstract

This article critically engages with intersecting tropes of immersion central to both notions of ethnography and technologically-enabled “extended reality” (XR). The authors build on Pauwelussen’s experience of disorientation while doing research within the dynamic land-sea environment of the Makassar Strait in Indonesia by hacking 360° video technologies to juxtapose multiple scenes of ‘flat’ video. These techniques of spatial montage enabled the authors to destabilize the assumption of ‘omni-scopic’ spherical holism and reconceptualize the ontological complexity of these entangled lifeworlds. Unexpectedly, this multimodal assemblage of agencies offered a kaleidoscopic perspective on immersive ethnography comprised of dynamic perception and speculative thinking.