Arrest in Melbourne (Australia) |
Climate activists stick to Picasso’s paintings
In recent months, climate activists have latched onto various art paintings in Europe. A similar campaign in Australia is now causing a stir.
Melbourne – Two protesters registered on Sunday on a Picasso painting at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The two were arrested along with a third climate activist.
According to the police, around 12:40 (local time) a 59-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman pressed their hands with glue on the work of the “Massacre in Korea”. It took about an hour for the two to be detached from the image.
In the photos, activists can be seen pressing their hands on Picasso. Next door is a man wearing an Extinction Rebellion T-shirt. On the ground is a banner that reads “Climate Chaos War + Hunger”.
Activist group Extinction Rebellion wrote on social media: “Two rebels stuck to the glass of Picasso’s ‘Massacre in Korea’. This painting shows the horrors of war.” And further: “Climate collapse will lead to an increase in conflicts around the world. Now is the time for everyone and all institutions to stand up and act! “
The anti-war painting, worth around 280 million euros, has remained intact because it is protected by a Plexiglas plate. “The exhibit was closed to the public … the demonstrators’ hands were safely removed from the plexiglass panel without damaging the work,” a gallery spokesperson said.
Climate activists have latched onto famous paintings in various cities in recent months. In August, two activists stuck to a work by Lucas Cranach the Elder at the Berlin Picture Gallery, the world-famous “Sistine Madonna” in Dresden and the painting “Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe” in Frankfurt. There have been similar actions in Florence and London, among others.
