Three activists from the environmental group Just Stop Oil threw soup at two paintings from Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" series at the National Gallery in London, highlighting ongoing tensions between art and climate activism. This incident follows the recent sentencing of two activists for a similar act, underscoring a pattern of protest that has garnered significant media attention. The paintings, protected by glass, were unharmed, but the actions prompted immediate arrests and a statement from the National Gallery confirming their safety.
The two sentenced activists, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, were convicted for a previous soup attack on one of the Sunflowers paintings in October 2022. Judge Christopher Hehri emphasized the potential risk to the artwork, stating, "The soup could have seeped through the glass" and caused irreparable damage. Their sentences of two years and 20 months respectively have drawn criticism from organizations like Greenpeace, which labeled the penalties as disproportionate for what they view as minor damage to a frame rather than the artwork itself.
Just Stop Oil continues to advocate for an end to fossil fuels in the UK by 2030, a stance that has led to various forms of protest, including the recent soup attacks. The group's founder, Roger Hallam, is currently serving a five-year sentence for orchestrating protests, while 25 other activists remain imprisoned for similar actions. The group's provocative tactics aim to draw attention to climate change and the urgent need for policy change regarding fossil fuel projects in the UK.
