On October 14, 2022, two youngsters from the activist group Just Stop Oil were reported for tarnishing Vincent van Gogh’s famous masterpiece “Sunflowers” to protest against the rising destruction happening on the planet.
Despite the painting being protected by glass, the surface of the painting was damaged as a result.
However, the pair were informed to expect jail time for their action under property damage.
Credits: National Gallery
From cave drawings to modern-day art, painting holds a special place within the culture and provides significance to human culture. Such a great artist is Vincent van Gogh, as he did a number of works reflecting his style, and such one artwork is Sunflower.
Van Gogh and his series of Sunflowers.
Van Gogh painted two series of still-life artworks titled Sunflowers: the first series shows the flowers lying on the ground, while the second series portrays them arranged in a vase. With a dream of wanting to be known as the painter of sunflowers, he chose the flower to bring meaning to his paintings, thus leading to a role in various other paintings. His creation of the sunflower always symbolized gratitude.
Destroying the Painting.
In October of 2022, two climate activists decided to show up at the National Gallery of Art in London, not to admire the painting but to raise awareness about climate destruction and of Earth.
However, by throwing tomato soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflower and later gluing their hands to the wall to show their concern about climate change. The two protesters, both aged 22 Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland destroyed the 17th-century Italian frame, which was also a piece of art, also resulting in the damage of the surface of the painting.
Regarding the damage, the judge’s bail stated that the two activists were not to be allowed inside any museums or galleries or given any authority to any adhesive substances in public areas.
The Climate Protesters?
The group describes itself as a “non-violent civil resistance” movement, aiming to persuade the government to halt fossil-fuel production.
Having high protest campaigns includes blocking roads, stopping play sports and halting theater production.
In November 2022, the protest group mainly focused on raising awareness by employing tactics such as blocking major roads, including the M25 and Dartford Crossing.
The recently reported incident happened at sporting events, including the Wimbledon Tennis Championship and World Snooker Championship in Sheffield as well; they were the main destroyers of the King Charles wax figure with chocolate cake.
Credits: PA Media
In the case of destroying the Sunflower painting, Plummer speaks of her and the protest group’s aim in doing so. In a viral video, after the incident, Plummer explains that she did what she did to create a cleaner, better future.
With this tarnish, they drew attention to problems regarding the rise of fossil fuel licenses, concerned with the growing issues about the cost of energy.
The activists involved with Van Gogh’s painting are scheduled to be sentenced on September 27.
The government tackled the Just Stop Oil protest by passing new anti-protest legislation under the Public Order Act, which holds a “serious disruption” allowing the police to respond to action.
