Two activists from environmental campaigning group Just Stop Oil have carried out a provocative piece of art vandalism in London this morning, throwing Heinz tomato soup over Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ in the National Gallery.
In a video clip, the pair are seen approaching the work, before opening the cans of soup and throwing it over the world-famous artwork. They then superglue their hands to the gallery wall. They can be heard saying: ‘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?’
Activists with @JustStop_Oil have thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the national Gallery and glued themselves to the wall. pic.twitter.com/M8YP1LPTOU
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) October 14, 2022
The action follows calls for the British Museum to end its sponsorship from oil giant BP, though exactly what this has to do with Van Gogh is a bit harder to fathom.
On the group’s Twitter, they say: ‘Thanks to skyrocketing gas prices, millions of British families won’t be able to afford to heat a can of soup this winter. The cost of living crisis and climate crisis [are] driven by oil and gas.’
Just Stop Oil don’t offer any explanation as to why the Van Gogh artwork was specifically targeted, though presumably it is just a very recognisable work that is known to millions of people, is known to be worth millions of pounds and is located in a gallery that is easily accessible and free.
Response to the action has been predictably polarised. Simon Pickering tweeted ‘You can care about the planet without destroying other things of value.’ JackBadgers4Lynch said: ‘Good on them. Whatever it takes. No art on a dead planet.’ On a more practical note, Cortez said: ‘Isn’t the painting protected with a perspex sheet?’ to which Kirsty Logan replied ‘Yes’.
The National Gallery has released a statement about the incident:
Statement from the National Gallery pic.twitter.com/DuZhTbAvbH
— National Gallery (@NationalGallery) October 14, 2022
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