Two climate change protesters have stuck to the frame of a John Constable painting, The Hay Wain, and affixed their own image of an “apocalyptic vision of the future”.
The alternative vision of the Suffolk country farm included an old car dumped in front of the mill, two airplanes and a washing machine in the back of the wagon.
Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters targeted the National Gallery in London on Monday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of visitors, including a class of 11-year-old students, from the room where the painting hangs.
JSO identified them as music student Eben Lazarus, 22, and psychology student Hannah Hunt, 23, both from Brighton.
They called for an end to new North Sea oil and gas licences.
Dressed in matching branded t-shirts, the two campaigners scaled a rope barrier and affixed the alternative printed image to the top of the painting.
Each then attached an arm to the picture frame and crouched down, voicing their concerns about the climate before security staff cleared the room.
Mr Lazarus, who describes himself as an art lover, said: “Art is important. It should be preserved for future generations to see, but when there is no food, what good is art?
“When there is no water, what is the use of art? When billions of people are in pain and suffering, what is the use of art?”
The Hay Cart, which was painted in 1821, is one of the most popular paintings in the gallery and shows a rural Suffolk scene of a cart returning to a field across a shallow ford for a new load.
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Lazarus said: “We’ve put together a reimagined version of Hay Wain that showcases our path to disaster.”
Hunt later said “the disruption will end when the UK government makes a meaningful statement that it will end new oil and gas licences”.
She added: “I’m here because our government plans to license 40 new oil and gas projects in the UK over the next few years.
“This makes them complicit in pushing the world towards an uninhabitable climate and in the deaths of billions of people in the coming decades.”
“You can forget our ‘green and pleasant land’ when further oil production will lead to widespread crop failure, meaning we will struggle for food. After all, new fossil fuels are a deadly project of our government.
“So yes, there is glue on the frame of this picture, but there is blood on the hands of our government.”
A spokesman for the National Gallery said the conservation team found minor damage to the frame and destruction of the varnish surface on the painting, both of which have now been repaired.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At approximately 2.25pm on Monday, officers were called to a protest which took place at the National Gallery, involving two people.”
It is the latest demonstration by the group, which is said to have targeted a Scottish art gallery and Sunday’s British Grand Prix in the past week.
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