Three individuals targeted National Gallery paintings an hour after Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were jailed for similar attack in 2022

Three individuals targeted National Gallery paintings an hour after Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were jailed for similar attack in 2022

Climate activists have thrown tomato soup over two Sunflowers paintings by Vincent van Gogh, just an hour after two others were jailed for a similar protest action in 2022.

Three supporters of Just Stop Oil walked into the National Gallery in London, where an exhibition of Van Gogh’s collected works is on display, at 2.30pm on Friday afternoon, and threw Heinz soup over Sunflowers 1889 and Sunflowers 1888.

The latter was the same work targeted by Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland in 2022. That pair are now among 25 supporters of Just Stop Oil in jail for climate protests.

  • qprimedEnglish
    8•3 months ago

    respectfully disagree. its way too easy to normalize every disaster, every lie, every little “we’re all going to die anyway”.

    I may be a sick minded outlier, but I am ok with this action and others. there is no damage done (soup on glass and cornflour on rock don’t count) and these people are putting their bodies and freedom on the line to keep people talking about what is likely the single biggest existential risk humanity has faced.in 50k years.

    right now, any time this issue is in front of eyeballs (even if tangentially reported) its a win.

    • @GraphyEnglish
      5•3 months ago

      to keep people talking about

      Honest question but do they really keep people talking about climate change?

      I feel like this is the tenth stunt that I’ve read about then came into the comments and it’s just the same talk about exposure vs art vandalism.

      I generally just leave these posts more exhausted and don’t give a shit about exposure or vandalism in the end. With climate change being something the furthest from my exhausted mind.

      • qprimedEnglish
        3•3 months ago

        good question. it seems to work on me, but I don’t think I count.

        I can say that when people in my orbit start talking about the direct action they have heard about (a few do), it is a possible entry point into a personal discussion on climate change. I don’t often pursue these openings, but I have gotten into 2 or 3 good conversations - apply exponential growth and …?

        “excuse me, but do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour bringer of war and famine?”

        so, I don’t know. but it feels like its a net positive.

    • @DrGunjahEnglish
      2•3 months ago

      if you do this bullshit for years with zero impact how is that a win? And why even paintings? I mean, let’s be real, not a lot of people care about art. If you want to go this route, at least throw soup at things the masses care about. But really, just don’t because no amount of attention will have any significant impact. You either give people incentive to change or you force them, anything else is not effective.

      • qprimedEnglish
        3•3 months ago

        all good.points. my only retort is that its ineffective until its not. this direcyaction has an effect on a small number of people and I think the blowback is likely minimal - net positive? the people involved may geninely not ever engage in any other way on this issue. and if the marketing people are right, engagement is vital.