Activists sought to raise awareness of fossil fuel subsidies at National Gallery of Australia
Activists protesting government inaction on climate change have glued themselves to Andy Warhol’s Campbell soup can paintings at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
The two protesters targeted Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup I with an adhesive to attach their hands; footage of the incident also showed blue scrawls over the row of paintings. The artworks, which were unharmed behind protective glass, were temporarily removed and then rehung.
Activist group Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies claimed responsibility for the action. The group wrote on Twitter: ‘Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies is highlighting the danger of capitalism by glueing onto Andy Warhol. Art depicting consumerism gone mad. While Australians starve, Government pays $22,000 a minute to subsidise fossil fuels.’
It’s the latest in a series of climate protests at museums, often involving the targeting of iconic paintings, which has included tomato soup flung over Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1888) at London’s National Gallery, and mashed potato hurled at Monet’s Les Meules (1890) at Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany.
