“What is worth more, art or life?” This is what climate activists from the group “Just Stop Oil” shouted on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 at the National Gallery in London. This indignation was followed by throwing a can of Heinz tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic 1888 painting, “Sunflowers.” As the creamy orange liquid dripped down the protective glaze of the painting, the two young activists proceeded to super glue their hands to the wall beneath the masterpiece. Soon, gallery visitors shrieked “Oh my gosh!” and called for security. The “Just Stop Oil'' art vandalism campaign raises the questions, how far will activists go to combat the climate crisis? Are their protests doing more harm than good?
Phoebe Plummer, one of the passionate activists who defaced the artwork, explains the meaning behind the use of tomato soup: “The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis and fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup!” As a result of their actions, the climate activists who threw soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s painting appeared in a London court on charges of criminal damages. The videos of Plummer talking about the Just Stop Oil protest action have been viewed on TikTok 1.7 million times and on Twitter 7.1 million times since the incident occurred. Although some may see this protest as ridiculous or unhinged, this is exactly what brought attention to the cause and gave Just Stop Oil exactly what they needed.
Now this isn’t the first time art has been used as protestors' targets. On May 29, 2022, a 36 year old male protester disguised as an old lady, threw a slice of cake onto the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris. As the man was escorted out of the building by security, he shouted in french, “Think of the Earth! There are people destroying the Earth! Think about it! Artists tell you to think of the Earth. That’s why I did this.” Later, the man was placed into psychiatric care. In July, members of the now infamous Just Stop Oil campaign glued themselves to a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" at the Royal Academy of Art in London. Unsurprisingly, on Oct. 16, 2022, just two days after “Sunflowers'' was vandalized, climate activists from Extinction Rebellion were arrested for gluing themselves to Picasso's "Massacre in Korea'' at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Starting to see a pattern yet?
Thousands of concerned civilians around the world have a lot to say about this act of vandalism and many more that have occurred in the past years. Sophie Wright, a bystander during the “Sunflowers” protest said, “I support the cause and the harmless protests that seem to have a purpose of raising awareness and shocking people. So long as they don’t hurt people or put people in danger, then I support them.” Although Wright’s opinion may be positive and well-intentioned, there are still some people who disagree with her. Another witness, who declined to give his name, 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.”
As protests toward climate change continue to disturb peace and leave public areas in disarray, it shows that these acts of vandalism and controversy may be exactly what society needs. Climate change is an issue that continues to affect people’s lives every day and, while sometimes extreme, protesting is a crucial and effective part of how we tackle change and solve issues on a world wide scale. While many may disagree with these activists' ways of protesting, there’s no doubt that their methods weren’t effective. After all, now people are talking about their cause.