Just Stop Oil activists throw tomato soup on Van Gogh's painting

A wave of protests followed after the British government - despite criticism from environmentalists and scientists - opened a new licensing round for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. One of the demonstrations took place on Friday, when two Just Stop Oil activists threw tomato soup over Van Gogh's masterpiece “Sunflowers” at London's National Gallery. Fortunately, the work was covered in glass and was unharmed, there was only minor damage to the picture frame. One of the activists shouted: "What is worth more? Art or life?”. I believe that life is worth more, but we don’t really have to choose between the two. I agree that fighting climate change is important and should be taken more seriously. But I don't like the fact that these activists reminded us of this by almost destroying the painting in the gallery. The way they protested brought them a lot of criticism, and it would be even worse if the painting was really damaged. However, because what they did was controversial, they succeeded in reaching more people. Still, I don’t think they should try to destroy art, as there are many other forms of protest.

Sources:

https://news.sky.com/story/just-stop-oil-protesters-throw-tomato-soup-over-van-goghs-sunflowers-masterpiece-12720183

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/14/1129098184/van-gogh-sunflowers-soup-climate-protest-london-gallery\

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Ania G

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