Climate protesters stuck their hands on the transparent covers of Andy Warhol’s famous work “Campbell’s Soup” on Wednesday. On display in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, officials said that the art piece was not damaged.
The protest, carried out by the group Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies Australia, comes as the latest in a series of climate actions targeting famous artworks around the world. The activists also drew graffiti on the protective covers of the various canvases that make up the work, without damaging them.
The covers were removed for cleaning. In a statement, the museum reported the protest, likening it to “similar incidents here and abroad”.
Warhol created “Campbell’s Soup” between 1961 and 1962. It has become one of the most recognisable symbols of the American pop art movement. The protesters explained that they had chosen it to highlight the “danger of capitalism”.
Other pro-climate activists have recently stuck their hands on Goya paintings in Madrid, sprayed soup on Van Gogh works in London, and smeared mashed potatoes on a Claude Monet masterpiece in Potsdam, near Berlin.
