Climate activists were arrested and taken into custody early this Friday in London after tossing soup over a Vincent Van Gogh art piece. According to a report from the Guardian, the incident took place at the National Gallery and saw an attack on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers series with tomato soup. Footage below shows two activists approaching the painting before throwing the soup, at which point others in the room can be heard gasping in shock.
“What is worth more, art or life?” one activist then tells the crowd. “Is it worth more than food, worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people? The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis. Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup. Meanwhile, crops are failing. Millions of people are dying in monsoons, wildfires, and severe drought. We cannot afford new oil and gas. It is going to take everything we know and love.”
A National Gallery rep announced that arrests had been made in connection with the incident. A rep also confirmed that there was no damage to the painting and only on the frame.