Stay Woke, 2024

JOHNNY ROMEO

Stay Woke, 2024

acrylic and oil on canvas

410 x 410 mm

Not even the eternal sleep of death can keep Johnny Romeo’s socially conscious skull from staying woke. Combining savvy wordplay with pitch-black comedy, Romeo transforms ‘Stay Croak’ to ‘Stay Woke’ to suggest that even those who have died and ‘croaked over’ need to stand up against systemic issues such racism and gender inequality. Humour is used to examine emerging attitudes towards the past, in which the dead are now being held accountable for historical injustices. Ever vigilant, Romeo’s sensitive new age skull listens to headphones to stay informed and stay woke.