Sidney, Europe Brief News – A 134-year-old piece of Australian art history has been defaced in a protest against one of the nation’s largest energy companies.
Frederick McCubbin’s ‘Down on His Luck’ piece was targeted by two protesters at the Art Gallery of Western Australia on Thursday.
Ceramic artist and illustrator Joana Partyka held a stencil over the canvas and further sprayed the logo of Woodside Energy in yellow over the 1889 oil painting.
The filmed incident then showed the two protesters unfurl an Aboriginal flag on the floor of the gallery and make an acknowledgement of Country, before one of the protesters glued her hand to the gallery wall.
However, the gallery says the painting was covered by perspex acrylic and was undamaged in the incident.
Ballardong Noongar man Desmond Blurton also unfurled an Aboriginal flag on the floor of the gallery, while Ms Partyka glued her hand to a wall.
A WA Police spokesperson said officers arrested a 37-year-old woman at the scene.
The pair were protesting Woodside Burrup Hub development, saying it “risks destroying culture and climate with toxic emissions”.
The Burrup Hub project aims to link the Scarborough gas field, northwest of Exmouth on the coast of WA’s Pilbara region, to its onshore Pluto LNG processing plant via a 430km pipeline.
Activists are concerned the project will pollute the region, generate an extreme amount of emissions and risk damaging the heritage-listed Murujuga rock art on the Burrup Peninsula, after which the Hub is named.
The gesture proved divisive, with many in the art world—and beyond—decrying the protest for a spread of reasons.
