Supporters of Just Stop Oil have once again clung to a major work of art in a major UK gallery, a day after invading the Silverstone track and interrupting the British Grand Prix.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m., two young supporters of the campaign stepped on a rope barrier that kept the audience at London’s National Gallery a safe distance from John Constable’s The Hay Wain.
They covered the 1821 oil painting with a dystopian reimagining of its bucolic scene, before clinging to its ornate golden frame, which caused staff to evacuate the art lovers’ room, tourists and schoolchildren gathered.
Hannah Hunt, 23, of Brighton, who was sitting under the box in a T-shirt printed with the slogan “Just stop oil,” said, “I’m here because our government plans to license 40 new oil and gas projects. in the United Kingdom in the United Kingdom in the coming years.
Just Stop Oil protesters cover John Constable’s The Hay Wain with their own image. Photography: Kirsty O’Connor / PA
“You can forget our ‘green and pleasant land’ when additional oil extraction leads to widespread crop failures, which means we will fight for food. Ultimately, new fossil fuels are a death knell for our government. So that yes, there is glue in the frame of this painting, but there is blood in the hands of our government “.
Eben Lazarus, 22, also of Brighton, said the reimagined version of the painting “illustrates the impact of our addiction to fossil fuels in our field.” In the Just Stop Oil version, the river is replaced by a road, smoke comes from the factories on the horizon and Hay Wain’s famous cart is loaded with an old washing machine.
A metropolitan police spokesman said: “At approximately 2.25pm on Monday 4 July, officers were called to a protest taking place inside the National Gallery, WC2 in which two people were taking part.”
John Constable’s 1821 painting, The Hay Wain. Photography: Chris Radburn / PA
Last week, supporters of Just Stop Oil caused disruptions in Glasgow, Manchester and London by sticking to famous picture frames, such as Van Gogh’s Peach Trees in Blossom, JMW Turner’s Thomson’s Aeolian Harp and My Heart’s in the Highlands of Horatio McCulloch.
The National Gallery action came a day after five men and two women were arrested after invading the Silverstone track during the first round of the British Grand Prix.
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The incident was not shown on global F1 television, but footage emerged of five people entering the Wellington Straight high-speed circuit. They then sat on the tarmac, according to news agency PA Media.
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