Just Stop Oil supporters have again stuck to a significant piece of art in a major UK gallery, a day after they stormed the Silverstone circuit and disrupted the British Grand Prix.
Just before 2.30pm, two young campaigners stepped over a rope barrier keeping the public at London’s National Gallery at a safe distance from The Hay Wain, by John Constable.
They covered the 1821 oil painting with a dystopian reimagining of its bucolic scene before sticking to its ornate gilt frame, prompting staff to evacuate the room of assembled art lovers, tourists and schoolchildren.
Hannah Hunt, 23, from Brighton, who sat under the painting wearing a ‘Just stop the oil’ T-shirt, said: ‘I’m here because our government plans to license 40 new oil and gas projects in the UK over the next few years.
Just Stop Oil protesters cover John Constable’s The Hay Wain with their own photo. Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/Pennsylvania
“You can forget our ‘green and pleasant land’ when further oil production will lead to widespread crop failures, 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 our government’s hands.
Eben Lazarus, 22, also from Brighton, said the reimagined version of the painting “illustrates the impact of our addiction to fossil fuels on our countryside”. In Just Stop Oil’s version, the river is replaced by a road, smoke rises from factories on the horizon and the famous Hay Wain cart is loaded with an old washing machine.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At approximately 2.25pm on Monday 4 July, officers were called to a protest taking place at the National Gallery, WC2, involving two people.”
John Constable’s 1821 painting, The Hay Wain. Photo: Chris Radburn/Pennsylvania
Just Stop Oil supporters caused disruption in Glasgow, Manchester and London last week by taping up the frames of famous paintings including Van Gogh’s Peach Blossoms, Thomson’s Aeolian Harp by J.M.W.
The action at the National Gallery came a day after five men and two women were arrested following a track invasion at Silverstone during the opening round of the British Grand Prix.
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The incident was not shown on Formula 1’s global telecast, but footage emerged of five people entering the track at the high-speed Wellington Straight. They then sat down on the tarmac, according to PA Media.
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