An illustration of a white bunny rabbit pointing at a clock has become a popular reaction image and the subject of an image macro series on Twitter / X and TikTok.

The meme has been dubbed "White Rabbit Pointing at a Clock," and it depicts the magical rabbit character from Alice in Wonderland essentially telling the viewer that time is running out. This sentiment has since been exaggerated and subverted through humorous captions.

Even the image's original creator, artist Luz Tapia (LuzTapia), has noticed the trend. She posted a viral tweet about it the other day.

So, where did this meme come from? When was the "White Rabbit Pointing at a Clock" created, and how did it pivot to internet humor? Let's explain.

Where Did The Original 'White Rabbit Pointing At A Clock' Image Come From?

The original image was created by artist Luz Tapia in March 2012, according to her own recording of its Photoshop file and the dated signature on the original image. She posted it to her DeviantArt page but later deleted it for an unknown reason.

The earliest repost of the image that we could find was shared on Pinterest in 2016. It spread on Pinterest in the following years and eventually seeped out to other social media sites.

The image shows the character White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. He's seen in a blue coat, pointing at a pocket watch and giving the viewer a quizzical expression, as if he's saying, "The clock is ticking."

Where Did The 'White Rabbit Pointing At A Clock' Memes Come From?

For some reason, TikTokers discovered the artwork in May of this year and began using it for memetic purposes. It was shared en masse in photo slideshows on the app, in which meme creators gave it a text overlay caption, forming an image macro series.

The first discovered TikTok post to use the image was shared by user @boxed3k that month. The caption they chose read, "How teachers be posted up when you start packing 1 minute before class ends."

The TikToker chose the song "So Fun" by Seven Harris as the photo's audio. In the following weeks, others used the same TikTok sound to post "White Rabbit Pointing at a Clock" memes.

How Is The 'White Rabbit Pointing At A Clock' Image Used In Memes?

The theme of the "White Rabbit Pointing at a Clock" memes is time. At first, that was taken very literally, evident in the first, aforementioned meme's caption about a teacher being strict with the bell.

However, as the meme evolved, creators began subverting the viewer's expectation. One popular instinct among meme creators was to humorously pretend that they didn't know what "quarter to" and "half past" actually meant. Captions like, "How MFs feel saying a quarter 'til 12 instead of 11:75," realize the punchline.

The image's use has recently spread to X. The new group of internet users has gone full circle with it as they're using it again to joke about precious time.

Some of the most liked tweets from this week have been about romance and fading relationships. "When she says 'good morning' instead of 'good morningggg,'" was one of many viral posts.

The "White Rabbit Pointing at a Clock" meme also became an integral part of a TikTok trend called "All Roads Lead to Rome," which concerns an ancient proverb about all paths leading to one place.

White Rabbit gesturing to the time was paired with the catchphrase because he conveyed the emotion of an impending, inevitable, obvious conclusion in a cheeky manner.

@bisskon “Liar” i was right 😂✌️ #allroadsleadtorome #time #wockst★rz #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – .000.1011

What Has Artist Luz Tapia Said About The Meme?

When the "White Rabbit Pointing at a Clock" memes spread to X this week, the artist, Luz Tapia, logged on to set the record straight: the artwork was not AI-generated.

She posted a video that showed her adding and removing layers to the image's original Photoshop file. "The clock looking like that was me just being lazy and scribbling to give the illusion of detail because this took me AGES," she added in the tweet.

Luz Tapia was also just surprised that one of her old drawings had come back in a big way. "Seeing this drawing I made in 2012 become a meme, it's still crazy to me," she wrote in her initial post.

What Are Some More 'White Rabbit Pointing At A Clock' Memes?

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For the full history of White Rabbit Pointing At A Clock, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.