If I was White

If I was White

The world would make

more sense to me

If I was White

I could walk down the street

and people would pay no particular

attention to me.

It may not seem like much

but if you've ever had a

shopkeeper tell you to

Buy something move or move on, or

simple follow you around the shop,

it's significant.

If I was White

I could go to church

and Jesus Christ would

look like me.

Imagine Christ images all the over

world being black.

If I was White

I wouldn't be asked if I was

Fullblood, Half-caste or part White.

If I was White

I could say This land

has been in my family

for three generations

If I was White

I could say My family

have lived on this loand

for two hudnreed years

If I was White

I could say My father worked hard

to buy this land.

If I was White

I would not hear other White People

say to me you don't look like you

have a lot of White in you, or

You don't look White.

If I was White

My fair skin

would not be such an issue

with other White People.

But I am Black

and I am as musunderstood

as the next Blackfella

But I am beginning to understand the White Man. (1)

Vernon Ah Kee

Vernon Ah Kee, If I was white, 2002. 

Source: Ferraby

After reading the article "No Need Looking" written by Brenda L Croft, one of the thing that caught most of my attention was Vernon Ah Kee's poem. Simple and modest; without the use of any grandiose words, his poem epitomize what it is like to be an Aboriginal person. As a reader, I read the poem and picture what it is like to be in his skin - I get to visualize in my head what it is that they experience even if it is just a glimpse of it. It's such a strong poem where the beauty of the art lies in its message and the words. Vernon Ah Kee does not attempt to conceal anything, instead he draws us an image of what happens in real life - a realistic and raw account - he depicts the truth and he challenges us to question the definition of Aboriginal identity.


When I first read this poem, the feelings that came over me was surprise and a sense of confrontation due to how straightforward it is, but in the end, it was a feeling of sadness because deep inside we all know that what he says is actually true. Discrimination and racism are still very much of today's society even though much have progressed. While racism is a complex issue nevertheless, these kinds of works, provide us a moment to reflect on our society and the issues that lie beneath - it calls for awareness and a fight for equality which should be sought by each and every member of the society regardless of our race, culture or skin colour. 

Vernon Ah Kee, hellothere, 2003.

Source: Australian Center of Photography

Being intrigued by his work, I decided to do some more digging about Vernon Ah Kee's background and the rest of his artworks. Part of the Proppa Now group, similar to Richard Bell, another member of the group, Ah Kee shares a similar belief that Aboriginal art is a "White thing:"

"I'm expanding the idea of what it means to be Aboriginal and what it means to be human. A lot of the problem this country has with Aboriginal people is that it struggles to see Aboriginal people as fully human."

According to Ah Kee, Aboriginal art should be as varied as the lives of Aborigines. "My work is about my life now," he says. "I use my own family to demonstrate the depth and complexity of modern Aboriginal life. (2)

Like many urban artist or city-based artists, Vernon Ah Kee and the Proppa Now group often face the discrimination based on the racist idea that Aboriginal people living in remote communities are the 'real Aboriginals.' (3) It is based on this approach that he explores the theme of discrimination, dispossession and the dichotomy between Black and White, using smart and witty ways in his works. Most often using text, the messages in his works are interesting and hard hitting but not too harsh due to the way he uses smart and witty ways of text manipulations. Nonetheless, his portraits are also as exceptional; their sheer size and style of faded edges, give a sense of confrontation as the faces seem to appear from this white background and look straight at you. In this  quote, Artlink gives a brief description of Vernon Ah Kee's portraits:

He liberates his people from the process of colonising the Aboriginal body through visual misrepresentation. He takes back the control of the image of how Aboriginal people are seen. Images of the wretched, the romantic and the exotic are replaced with images of contemporary Aboriginal people. (4)

Vernon Ah Kee, Self Portrait (possesses some of the attributes of an artist), 2007. 

Source: ngv.

Looking at Vernon Ah Kee's work was certainly very inspirational to me. Being a graphic designer where we're often asked to make unique ideas and concepts in new, exciting ways and also often to create awareness of global issues, I am able to relate with the way he creates his works. Although they fall more into the category of art, there's much that I think relates to graphic design in the sense that it draws on creative mechanisms to highlight or convey a message. 

Why didn't the racist cross the road? Because he didn't want to see the other side. (5)

References:

(1) Brenda L Croft, "No need looking," PhotoFile 66 (2002): 24-29.

(2) Rosemary Sorensen, "The Face: Vernon Ah Kee," The Australian, July 12, 2008, accessed October 8, 2011, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/the-face-vernon-ah-kee/story-e6frg8n6-1111116855996.

(3) Margo Neale, "Learning to be proppa: Aboriginal artists collective ProppaNOW," Artlink 30 (2010): 1. 

(4)  Neale, "Learning to be proppa," 3. 

(5)  Artwork: Vernon Ah Kee, theotherside, 2003, synthetic polymer paint and vinyl on board, "Abstractions," The Australian National University, accessed October 8, 2011, http://www.anu.edu.au/culture/abstractions/artists/vak_2.htm.