Climate activists believed to be with Just Stop Oil threw cans of tomato soup on Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting and glued their hands to the wall.
The climate demonstration took place at the National Gallery in London where they were filmed approaching the protected painting and throwing what appeared to be a can of a tomato-based substance on the famous painting.
“What is worth more, art or life?” one of the young demonstrators said after gluing one hand to the wall. “Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and our people?”
Videos from the demonstration were posted by The Guardian correspondent Damien Gayle, in which the protesters continued their speech, decrying the cost of fossil fuels as the root of struggling families’ problems.
“The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis,” the protester said. “Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”
Watch the videos below:
“What is worth more, art or life? … are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”@JustStop_Oil’s activists explain their action pic.twitter.com/mGNZIO6RbK
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) October 14, 2022
Per USA Today, the gallery said “there is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed,” as the oil painting has a glass cover.
This protest is reportedly part of a wave of protests coinciding with the British government’s announcement of a new licensing cycle for North Sea oil and gas development, according to USA Today.
The British government’s decision has drawn condemnation from environmentalists and scientists who claim it jeopardizes the nation’s efforts to combat climate change.
The protest, however, brought condemnation of its own, some from conservative political commentator Caleb Hull who said, “They could have fed a homeless person with that soup. Instead, they threw it on a painting.”
Another Twitter user responded by saying, seemingly of the speaker, “She reads too much of the guardian. They all seem to be of the same ilk. Middle class amateur drama students who seem a bit work shy.”
The protesters’ shirts contained the name and logo of the group, Just Stop Oil, which claims to be “a coalition of groups working together to ensure that the government commits to ending all new licenses and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.”
