London, Europe Breif News – Two climate activists staged a protest in London’s National Gallery, throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
The activists, who are part of the climate change–focused group Just Stop Oil, then glued themselves to the wall under the painting.
The gesture is one that Just Stop Oil has regularly done in the U.K., where its young members have repeatedly sought to push the government to respond more quickly to the destruction of the natural environment.
Their tactics have often involved gluing themselves to artworks, usually without any damage to the pieces themselves, and their protests have inspired similar ones in Italy and Australia.
Shortly after the protest, the National Gallery said the van Gogh painting had not been hurt, although its frame had sustained “minor damage.”
The museum said that police officers arrested the two people after the protest.
In video of the protest that was posted by Just Stop Oil on Twitter, two activists open what appears to be a Heinz soup can and toss what’s contained within onto the canvas. They then spread glue across their hands and place them to the wall.
“Human creativity and brilliance is on show in this gallery, yet our heritage is being destroyed by our Government’s failure to act on the climate and cost of living crisis,” the group wrote on Twitter.
The gesture proved divisive, with many in the art world—and beyond—decrying the protest for a spread of reasons.
