Two climate activists glued their hands to a Vincent Van Gogh painting at a London art gallery to protest the government’s policies on climate, according to Fox News.
The news: The duo, 21-year-old Louis McKechnie and 24-year-old Emily Brocklebank, are members of an activist group called “Just Stop Oil.”
- The pair glued their hands to the painting “Peach Trees in Blossom,” which was painted in 1889 by Van Gogh. The painting hangs in the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House in London, according to Fox.
Why? In a video recorded at the gallery, McKechnie stated that they did this to protest the U.K. government’s decision to push through over 40 new fossil fuel projects, according to France 24.
- “Sorry everybody, we don’t want to be doing this,” he said, via EuroNews. “We’re here glued to this painting, this beautiful painting, because we’re terrified for our future.”
- According to EuroNews, the activists chose the Van Gogh painting because the area of France that is depicted in the art, Arles, is expected to begin experiencing drought in the near future.
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Details: Fox reported that the incident closed down the gallery for the rest of the day, but was opened normally the following day.
- “My generation has no other choice but to take this kind of action,” McKechnie said, via France 24.
- France 24 noted that McKechnie — who has been arrested 20 times and has spent six weeks in prison — is becoming a popular face among Britain’s climate activists.
- The French news outlet reported that he previously enraged soccer fans when he tied himself to a goalpost in the middle of a match earlier this year.
- “As a kid I used to love this painting, my dad took me to see it when we visited London,” McKechnie said, via EuroNews. “I still love this painting, but I love my friends and my family more, I love nature more. I value the future survival or my generation more highly than my public reputation.”