Artist's Description
A work from “Words I Learnt From The English Class”.
This one is ‘Onomatopoeia’ which is a word that sounds like the word it’s describing like: ‘buzz’ ‘ping’ or ‘hiss’ etc.
The word ‘boong’ is a racist word for an Australian Aboriginal and also relates to a racist joke about the sound an Aborigine makes when it hits the bullbar of your car. A popular joke to tell in my presence whilst at school. The vibration is to reflect this onomatopoeic word but also the jolt that went through my body when realising the nature of these ‘humorous’ jokes.
desktop
tablet-landscape
content-width
tablet-portrait
workstream-4-across
phone-landscape
phone-portrait
desktop
tablet-landscape
content-width
tablet-portrait
workstream-4-across
phone-landscape
phone-portrait
Artwork Comments
Hi Archie, this is a really powerful image. I too remember the joke. It wasn’t funny then and still isn’t funny now. Love your work.
good stuff mate- humour is a good weapon
I would like to think that this is not a common practice now days. I was brought up in a county town which had a big aboriginal population. Some good some bad as in every race. Clever artwork but I don’t like that word. Just a childhood memory for me too, and I’m not of aboriginal heritage.
Recently had a friend of Papuan decent have ‘abo’ yelled at him from a white Holden.. so yeah still happens. QLD and WA still have place names with ‘nigger’ in them. How ’bout that?!!