Climate Activists Glue Themselves to Van Gogh Painting for Protest: ‘We Don’t Want to Be Doing This’
Two climate activists glued their hands to a Vincent Van Gogh painting this week in a bizarre protest.
The two young demonstrators are part of the group Just Stop Oil and new fossil fuel projects. The two climate change activists were identified as 21-year-old Louis McKenchie and 24-year-old Emily Brocklebank. The Peach Trees in Blossom painting is at the Courtauld Gallery in London.
“Sorry everybody, we don’t want to be doing this,” McKenchie told onlookers. “We’re here glued to this painting, this beautiful painting, because we’re terrified for our future. We’re here from a group called Just Stop Oil. We expect to be arrested today.”
New fossil fuel projects are like “signing our death warrants,” the protester claimed. The reason for the unusual demonstration, he said, is because “we’ve tried everything else,” including protesting outside of Parliament.
“If there was any other way of getting the change we need, we would’ve done it — we’ve tried everything else,” the activist said.
McKenchie is no stranger to headline-grabbing protests as he’s been arrested numerous times. In March, he tied his neck to a goalpost at a soccer match between Newcastle and Everton, according to BBC.
Earlier this week, two other Just Stop Oil protesters also glued themselves a painting at the Manchester Art Gallery to protest fossil fuel usage. They did so after spray painting “no new oil” onto the floor of the gallery. McKenchie did no spray painting, but posted a sign to the wall under the painting reading “#NONEWOIL.”
BREAKING: Just Stop Oil protesters have glued themselves to a Turner painting at Manchester Art Gallery. pic.twitter.com/8Qj9UitCny
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) July 1, 2022
In a statement issued by Just Stop Oil, McKenchie said he loves Van Gogh’s painting and has a history of visiting it with his father.
“As a kid I used to love this painting, my dad took me to see it when we visited London. I still love this painting, but I love my friends and family more, I love nature more. I value the future survival of my generation more highly than my public reputation,” he said.
Watch above via Talk TV.
