Recently, two anti-fossil fuel protestors were filmed throwing Tomato Soup on Van Gogh's famous painting 'Sunflowers' in a London gallery. The two young women from the campaign group threw two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting and have now been charged with criminal damage offences. The protestors after throwing the soup, then glued themselves to the wall under the painting.
The art gallery confirmed that the painting was glazed so no major harm was done, only the frame got spoiled. These campaigners were protesting against the UK government under the Just Stop Oil movement advocating for a fossil fuel-free future through civil resistance in the UK. The campaign demands that the British government immediately stop licensing new fossil fuel exploration, development and production projects. One of the activists commented after this incident that, "What is worth more, art or life? ... Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet?"
Along with the two women, a third person was also charged for spraying paint on a rotating sign at the Metropolitan Police’s headquarters in London. The protestors were subsequently arrested on charges of criminal damage and aggravated trespass. The painting, one of several versions of “Sunflowers” that Van Gogh painted in the late 1880s, was cleaned and returned to its place in the National Gallery just six hours after this incident. District judge Tan Ikram released the women on bail on the condition that they don’t have paint or adhesive substances on them in a public place.
Two days later, environmental protesters also spray-painted the front of a luxury Aston Martin car showroom in central London calling for the UK Government to halt all new oil and gas licenses and consent. "We will not be intimidated by changes to the law, we will not be stopped by injunctions sought to silence non-violent people. These are irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter, the loss of our rights, freedoms," Just Stop Oil protesters wrote on Twitter.
Just Stop Oil has drawn attention, and criticism, for its disruptive tactics, including targeting artworks in museums. In July, activists glued themselves to the frame of an early copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, and to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain” in the National Gallery. These activists have also blocked bridges and intersections across London. In a similar protest earlier this year, a man disguised as an old woman sprung out of his wheelchair to smear cake on the Mona Lisa.
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