How Soon They Forget

Artist Roy Kennedy (1934)

Datec 2001

Object number00037648

DCMITypeStill image

NameEtching

MediumPaper, ink, frame

DimensionsOverall (In Mount): 700 × 790 × 10 mm, 0.16 kg
Image: 494 × 593 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionAn etching by Roy Kennedy titled 'How Soon They Forget' depicting Police Paddock Mission and Warangesda Mission, where Kennedy and his family lived. It portrays the familiar local sights of the police station, church and mulberry tree. The artist Roy Kennedy grew up at Darlington Point in Australia's Riverina region. His art records the history and experience of many Indigenous men from urban and regional NSW, who lived isolated from other Australians on missions and settlements along major waterways.HistoryMissions were established in Australia during the 19th century to encourage the local Aboriginal population to adopt European Christian lifestyles and customs. The system was not ideal for most who lost their cultural freedom and traditional homelands. Missions often had a debilitating effect on the Indigenous community, causing the breakdown of language, family, culture and lifestyle. Roy Kennedy was born in 1923 at Darlington Point near Griffith, NSW. He grew up during the Depression years in Police Paddock Mission. The Warangesda Mission on Pepper Tree Avenue was the birthplace of his mother but closed in 1925. This closure had a significant impact on the local Aboriginal people, causing the community to scatter across the region. Kennedy has commented that every one of his prints tells a particular story about his experiences growing up on the mission. He named this print 'How soon they forget' in response to people asking him why he knew so much about Darlington Point. Artist's statement: "My name is Roy Kennedy and I'm an etcher who come from a mission at Darlington Point on the Murrumbidgee River. Being reared on a mission so my etchings are about my way of being brought up on the mission in the Depression years under the Aboriginal Protection Board. There is a story with every print sold."SignificanceThis etching represents the experiences of Indigenous Australians on missions in rural Australia. It highlights how Kennedy uses his personal story of life on a mission in his artwork.