Kangaroo Country: a ten-year birthday graphic from Blackriver and Radical Fingerboards
Radical Fingerboards, the Australian shop and brand, turned ten this year, and Blackriver marked the occasion with a collaboration deck graphic called Kangaroo Country. I like it when a brand explains the thinking behind a design instead of just dropping a product photo, and this write-up does exactly that.
The idea starts from the word "Country". In Australia it means much more than a place on a map. It can include land, waters, stories, values and the responsibilities tied to an ancestral area. Even the word kangaroo traces back to gangurru, a term the Guugu Yimidhirr people shared with James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in 1770.
The artwork was shaped by the way many Aboriginal art traditions link storytelling, animals, nature and place. The team is careful to say that Australia is home to many different nations, each with its own languages, laws and art styles, so there is no single look that stands for all of them. The graphic is therefore not meant to copy or imitate the sacred stories or symbols of any one community. It is described as a broader nod to the kangaroo's natural and cultural importance, made with respect for Australia's First Peoples.
What I enjoyed most is the closing thought: fingerboarding is a culture built from creativity, shared sessions and local scenes, not just the little object under your fingers. For Blackriver and Radical the deck is both a ten-year celebration and a tribute to the people who keep the Australian scene going, one session and setup at a time. According to the post, it was due to arrive in the US shop soon.
Source: Blackriver Fingerboard Shop
The idea starts from the word "Country". In Australia it means much more than a place on a map. It can include land, waters, stories, values and the responsibilities tied to an ancestral area. Even the word kangaroo traces back to gangurru, a term the Guugu Yimidhirr people shared with James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in 1770.
The artwork was shaped by the way many Aboriginal art traditions link storytelling, animals, nature and place. The team is careful to say that Australia is home to many different nations, each with its own languages, laws and art styles, so there is no single look that stands for all of them. The graphic is therefore not meant to copy or imitate the sacred stories or symbols of any one community. It is described as a broader nod to the kangaroo's natural and cultural importance, made with respect for Australia's First Peoples.
What I enjoyed most is the closing thought: fingerboarding is a culture built from creativity, shared sessions and local scenes, not just the little object under your fingers. For Blackriver and Radical the deck is both a ten-year celebration and a tribute to the people who keep the Australian scene going, one session and setup at a time. According to the post, it was due to arrive in the US shop soon.
Source: Blackriver Fingerboard Shop
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