Climate activists glue themselves to Warhol artwork in Australian capital

Climate protesters glued themselves to an Andy Warhol painting at the National Art Gallery of Australia in Canberra on Wednesday, the latest in a spate of activist demonstrations in art galleries around the world.

Video footage released by the Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies group showed two female protesters using an adhesive to stick their hands to Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup I”, on display at the national gallery in Canberra.

Several blue scrawls were also seen across the series of ten paintings, which are behind glass.

“Andy Warhol depicted consumerism gone mad in this iconic series,” said protester Bonnie Cassen in a statement shared by the activist group. “And now we have capitalism gone mad. Families are having to choose between medicine and food for their children while fossil fuel companies return record profits.”

Climate activists worldwide are using demonstrations in front of famous artworks to draw attention to their causes.

In October climate activist Phoebe Plummer threw tomato soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery. While the painting was behind glass, the soup caused minor damage to the frame.

The National Gallery declined to comment on whether the painting was damaged.

“A protest has taken place at the National Gallery of Australia following similar incidents elsewhere in Australia and overseas,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES