Climate change protestors from Just Stop Oil have been wreaking havoc on the capital since the beginning of October. The headline-grabbing tactics from the group started earlier in the year when activists superglued themselves to the copy of the Last Supper painting in the Royal Academy and to John Constable’s painting The Hay Wain in the National Gallery in July. The environmental activists are demanding the government commits to ending all new oil and gas licences and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.
Today, on their 24th day of civil unrest this month, Just Stop Oil protesters chose King Charles III’s Madam Taussaud’s waxwork as their target, smothering the sculpture's face with chocolate cake. Video footage shows the protestors, wearing white t-shirts, as they smear both the King and the Princess of Wales’ waxworks. They can be heard saying: ‘It is time for action’.
🎂 BREAKING: JUST STOP OIL CAKES THE KING 🎂
— Just Stop Oil ⚖️💀🛢 (@JustStop_Oil) October 24, 2022
đź‘‘ Two supporters of Just Stop Oil have covered a Madame Tussauds waxwork model of King Charles III with chocolate cake, demanding that the Government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.#FreeLouis #FreeJosh #A22Network pic.twitter.com/p0DJ8v3XVB
The campaign group wrote on Twitter: ‘The science is clear. The demand is simple: just stop new oil and gas. It’s a piece of cake.’
Last week, two protesters threw a can of Heinz tomato soup over Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ in the National Gallery. The group noted, however, that the paint can be washed away and the Van Gogh painting was protected with a layer of perspex, so minimal damage has been done to the original artwork. Yesterday, the artwork of Claude Monet was the latest focus of food-related climate protests, after members of a German environmental group threw mashed potatoes over one of his paintings in a Potsdam museum on Sunday.
Why are activists using food?
For Just Stop Oil, civil disobedience is part of a strategy to draw attention to the campaign and raise awareness of its immediate aim, which is to get the government to halt future licensing for the production of fossil fuels.
‘What is worth more, art or life? Worth more than justice?’ said Phoebe Plummer, 21, a protester who threw tomato soup at the National Gallery last week. ‘Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?’
Plummer later said of the incident a separate video: ‘I recognise that it's a slightly ridiculous action. But, we're not asking the question, should everyone be throwing soup on paintings? What we're doing is getting the conversation going so that we can ask the questions that matter. Questions like: is it OK that Liz Truss is licensing over 100 new fossil fuel licenses?’
“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
Need some cheering up? The irresistibly cute Sumatran tiger cub triplets at London Zoo have finally got names.
Bond Street Station on the Elizabeth line is finally open.
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