Summary

Photograph of Dr. Bruce Cook and daughter, Florence beside a sign which reads "WARNING: CHECKPOINT BARKLY. YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE COVID-FREE SECTOR" at a pedestrian crossing. The sign, made and installed by an anonymous artist, was posted on the night of July 3 on the corner of Barkly Street and Summerhill Road, Footscray. The State Government had recently declared a number of suburbs throughout Melbourne as restricted areas due to the high number of COVID-19 virus incidences in those areas, West Footscray being one of these suburbs. The sign was a response by the artist to the conceptual demarkation between the suburb of Footscray, considered then a COVID-19 free sector and West Footscray, a COVID-19 hot spot. The sign was inspired by the layout and design of the Checkpoint Charlie border sign in the Berlin Wall, the crossing point between East and West Germany.

The original Checkpoint Barkly sign is also held in the Museums Victoria collection and was donated by the artist.

Description of Content

Man with a child in a pram on a pedestrian crossing at traffic lights. He is reading the sign, 'Warning Checkpoint Barkly' attached to the pole.

Physical Description

Born Digital Image.

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