Rabbit’s Record of the Camps

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

This thread follows Rabbit Hendricks’s drawings from clandestine witness to threatened evidence and an uncertain surviving record.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Drawing Amid Ruins Drawing Amid Ruins from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". A Sketcher at War An Observant Eye Rabbit Hendricks sketches his companions during the campaign in Syria, including a portrait of Darky Gardiner in a ruined…

Drawing Amid Ruins from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". A Sketcher at War An Observant Eye Rabbit Hendricks sketches his companions during the campaign in Syria, including a portrait of Darky Gardiner in a ruined…

A Sketcher at War An Observant Eye Rabbit Hendricks sketches his companions during the campaign in Syria, including a portrait of Darky Gardiner in a ruined village. His art records men as individuals rather than military abstractions. A Record Begins The drawings emerge from ordinary moments among danger and loss. Later, the sketchbook will carry that habit of seeing into the prisoner camp.

Secret Camp Images Secret Camp Images from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". Pictures in Hiding Witness to Abuse Rabbit Hendricks draws beatings, labour, and the conditions of the camp.

Secret Camp Images from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". Pictures in Hiding Witness to Abuse Rabbit Hendricks draws beatings, labour, and the conditions of the camp.

Pictures in Hiding Witness to Abuse Rabbit Hendricks draws beatings, labour, and the conditions of the camp. The Japanese sometimes ask him for flattering portraits, unaware of the work he conceals. Art Under Threat If found, the drawings could bring severe punishment. Their secrecy makes the sketchbook both a record of suffering and a danger to its maker.

The Final Illness The Final Illness from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Artist Falls Ill Sudden Collapse Rabbit Hendricks is struck by cholera while working.

The Final Illness from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Artist Falls Ill Sudden Collapse Rabbit Hendricks is struck by cholera while working.

The Artist Falls Ill Sudden Collapse Rabbit Hendricks is struck by cholera while working. His companions carry him back through the night, searching for his dentures and trying to get him to the camp. A Fragile Archive The drawings and paints are left behind as Rabbit enters the cholera compound. His personal record is now at risk of being burned with him.

A Book Saved by Fire A Book Saved by Fire from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Sketchbook at the Pyre Dispute Over Evidence Dorrigo Evans orders Rabbit’s sketchbook burned, arguing that memory cannot guarantee justice.

A Book Saved by Fire from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Sketchbook at the Pyre Dispute Over Evidence Dorrigo Evans orders Rabbit’s sketchbook burned, arguing that memory cannot guarantee justice.

The Sketchbook at the Pyre Dispute Over Evidence Dorrigo Evans orders Rabbit’s sketchbook burned, arguing that memory cannot guarantee justice. Bonox Baker argues that it could show what happened. Accidental Survival The book is blown from the pyre and survives partly charred. Dorrigo keeps it, uncertain whether the images will bear witness or be absorbed into another story.

A Picture After Death A Picture After Death from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Image Remains A Fragment Survives The sketch of Darky Gardiner in Syria endures, with Yabby Burrows added after his death.

A Picture After Death from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Image Remains A Fragment Survives The sketch of Darky Gardiner in Syria endures, with Yabby Burrows added after his death.

The Image Remains A Fragment Survives The sketch of Darky Gardiner in Syria endures, with Yabby Burrows added after his death. The drawing becomes one of the few physical traces of men who otherwise disappear from memory. Uncertain Meaning Dorrigo Evans doubts that images can control how later generations interpret them. The surviving record matters, but cannot restore the lives it depicts.

During the Syrian–Lebanese campaign, before the POW years

During the forced-labour period, before Rabbit contracts cholera

During the cholera outbreak, after Rabbit collapses on the Line

At Rabbit’s cremation, during the worst period of camp deaths

During Dorrigo’s postwar career, as the sketchbook becomes a public object