Beholding through being: understanding the phenomenal agency of indigenous-made imagery

Rock art is a vital form of cultural heritage and traditional knowledge for Indigenous peoples. These images are deeply connected to specific places, making it essential to consider the environmental, temporal, and spatial contexts in which they exist to fully understand their meanings. Conditions such as the viewer’s gender, spiritual role, temporality, and seasonality can all influence how such images are perceived. Acknowledging the presence or absence of rock art within an Indigenous cultural and ontological context enhances our understanding of how rock art can be approached, viewed, and interacted with. This study explores how and why particular conditions shape our ability to ‘see’ or ‘not see’ rock art, recognizing the agency of the images themselves – how they can choose to reveal or conceal their presence to researchers and communities, contending that rock art must be considered a social agent.