A pair of activists quite literally made a splash at the National Gallery in London Friday morning.
The two women, clad in t-shirts that read “Just Stop Oil,” walked up to a famed work of the late Vincent Van Gogh and doused it with the contents of two Heinz tomato soup cans.
Following their defacing of the display, the two women sat beneath it and glued their hands to the wall.
“What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?” yelled one of the activists.
“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,” she continued.
The painting, “Sunflowers,” is protected by a glass cover, so it was left undamaged by the act of protest.
The two women were arrested and charged with criminal damage and aggravated trespass, according to the London Metropolitan Police.
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