The gasps in room 43 of the National Gallery in London capture the raw emotion of a shocking moment. On Friday, two activists with the group Just Stop Oil walked into the gallery and tossed a can of tomato soup on a priceless painting by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.
It’s one of the most important pieces in the museum, worth incalculable millions. That protest action was met with a shout of, “Oh my gosh,” and calls for museum security to respond to the brazen and unlawful act. “Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?” shouted one of the activists, Phoebe Plummer, 21, upon throwing the soup at the painting.
Joining her in the protest was another young activist, 20-year-old Anna Holland. Both were arrested by London police. There was no damage to the painting because it was covered by glass, something the protesters say they took into account ahead of time.
Still, their disruptive action, which has gone viral on social media, is raising questions about the extent to which climate action is considered ‘fair play.’ “We’re not doing this to be popular,” insists Grahame Buss, a spokesperson with Just Stop Oil. “It’s about bringing change.” Except that it could backfire. Read more: Climate protesters douse Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ with tomato soup Edward Maibach, an authority on how people engage with the climate emergency, said research shows “many people support non-violent civil disobedience in defense of our climate.” In fact, many comments on social media spoke to the seemingly inchoate strategy of targeting a painter who lived his life in poverty in order to make a point about social inequality. “Indeed,” Maibach added in an email to Global