Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

theguardian.com:

Activists from Just Stop Oil have thrown tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London.

There were gasps, roars and a shout of “Oh my gosh!” in room 43 of the gallery as two young supporters of the climate protest group threw the liquid over the painting, which is protected by glass, just after 11am.

They removed jackets to reveal Just Stop Oil T-shirts before gluing themselves to the wall beneath the artwork, which is one of the gallery’s most important treasures.

“What is worth more, art or life?” said one of the activists. “Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?

“The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis, fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”

National Gallery staff quickly cleared the room.

For the past two weeks, the group has been staging sit-down protests on roads around central London, infuriating drivers and commuters, but Friday’s action appeared to be an escalation of its tactics.

Bystanders in the National Gallery had mixed feelings about the action. One man, who declined to give his name, said he could understand their cause, but worried about targeting “a beautiful piece of art, which is the best of humanity”.

He added: “They may be trying to get people to think about the issues but all they end up doing is getting people really annoyed and angry.

“The typical unthinking individual who doesn’t