British climate activists glue hand to Van Gogh painting to protest UK govt’s climate policies
(Credit: Just Stop Oil group) Climate activists protest
A couple of British climate activists glued their hands to the frame of Vincent van Gogh's painting at a London gallery while protesting against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s climate policies.
The stunt was pulled off by the "Just Stop Oil" group on Thursday to urge “art institutions to join them in civil resistance”. It came a day after other members from the group did the same thing to a Horatio McCulloch artwork in Glasgow.
The “Just Stop Oil” group tweeted a picture of the duo— McKechnie, 21, and Brocklebank, 24— whose hands can be seen glued to the Dutch master's "Peach Trees in Blossom". The group has been seeking to halt all new UK fossil fuel projects.
The group also shared a clip on Twitter showing London police climbing the Courtauld’s stairs, presumably to apprehend the demonstrators.
According to Just Stop Oil, the 1899 painting of the bucolic landscape was targeted because the region it depicts in Provence may soon experience severe drought.
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"We don't want to be doing this," Louis McKechnie, one of the pair claiming to have attached himself to the Van Gogh work, told onlookers at the London gallery, according to footage shared by "Just Stop Oil", according to AFP.
"We're here glued to this painting —this beautiful painting — because we're terrified for our future," the 21-year-old added, noting he and his fellow activist expected to be arrested.
The Courtauld Gallery remain closed through the end of Thursday and is expected to reopen to the public "as normal" on Friday.
"A piece of art receives this protection and state concern. Whilst people’s in Ethiopia, Somalia, India, Pakistan, the USA, Australia (to name a few) who are suffering from climate change NOW get ignored and left," the group wrote.
"What’s more important? This painting? Or a future"?!
(With inputs from agencies)
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