Stolen Boomerang - Print

My Dad was part of the stolen generation. He and his 9 siblings were removed from their family and each other and placed with different families. While over the years the siblings were reunited with each other, they lost so much.

The blue boomerang in the centre of the artwork represents my Dad and his journey and the smaller boomerangs around the outside represent countless others who were taken from their families, culture and land.

I have used the boomerang intentionally as for me it captures both the separation (when it is thrown) and returning back to the place of origin or in my dad’s case finding his culture and siblings again and also finding forgiveness and peace with his past.

The purple flowers are the native hibiscus which has been approved by the National Stolen Generations Alliance as the official symbol for Sorry Day.

According to the Kimberley Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation, the native hibiscus “was adopted because it is found widely across Australia and it is a survivor. Its colour denotes compassion and spiritual healing.”