This work by Glenn Morgan shows the residents of the housing commission tower in Flemington during the lockdown in July 2020. The artist has highlighted the impacts the lockdown had on the people, many of whom were from emerging communities (i.e., refugees).

Morgan has simplified the hulking towers to a few windows, ensuring the focus remains on the occupants. By framing residents in a window, Morgan emphasises their separation from one another whilst communicating their emotional and physical state though placards and speech-bubbles.

People in the windows are shown experiencing a range of emotive moments in response to the snap lockdown. There’s anger ( “I’m a refugee not a criminal!”), desperation (“I need my medicine”), fear (“Help! Help! Please!”), and worry (“We need food”). The breadth of reactions underlines the diversity of consequences and concerns for all involved and illustrates how the lockdowns effected people differently.

At the bottom of the tower stands police cars, a news van and figures of mask-wearing police officers and a journalist, which adds to the cluttered tension that existed across the small but teetering space. On top of the climbing tower, Premier Dan Andrews stands with his own placard, reminding all below why the lockdown was called.

Morgan alleviates the tension by combining the flat cartoon-like figures with some humorous dialogue- with touches of self-help (“More grog!”) and logistical concerns, with police officer’s remarking, “It’s getting cold” and “I what [sic] a wee”.

The artist, Glenn Morgan, was born in Warrnambool, Victoria in 1955. Morgan studied art extensively in Melbourne, and has worked as a painter, sculptor and printmaker; he has held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney since 1983. The Library acquired this work in 2022.