Just Stop Oil protesters risked ten years in prison after gluing themselves to the frame of Vincent Van Gogh’s Peach Trees In Blossom painting in the group’s latest stunt.
Two climate activists attached themselves to the iconic 19th-century painting at the Courtauld Gallery in London on Thursday – as they demanded that the government end new oil and gas exploration.
Louis McKechnie, mentioned as one of the protesters, is an eco-zealot who tied himself to a goal post during the Everton vs. Newcastle football match in March.
The 21-year-old stormed the field halfway through the Premier League match and tied himself to the woodwork with a bright orange t-shirt, saying: ‘Just stop using oil.’
McKechnie stopped the game for seven minutes before stadium staff released him with large bolt cutters and dragged him off the field where he was arrested.
The stunt comes just a day after protesters stuck themselves to Horatio McCulloch’s My Heart Is In The Highlands 19th-century painting in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and spray-painted their logo on the walls and floor of the building.
Five protesters have been arrested and are expected to appear in Glasgow Sheriff’s Court.
Just Stop Oil protesters risked ten years in prison after gluing themselves to the frame of Vincent Van Gogh’s Peach Trees In Blossom painting in the group’s latest stunt.
Named one of the protesters, Louis McKechnie is an eco-zealot who tied himself to a goal post during the Everton vs. Newcastle football match in March
The mechanical engineering student was one of nine protesters brought to the Supreme Court for violating a government order
Despite his age, McKechnie is an experienced disruptor who has wreaked havoc in recent months with Insulate Britain’s protests on major British roads.
The mechanical engineering student was one of nine protesters brought to the Supreme Court for violating a government order to prevent thugs from gluing themselves to highways last year, including the M25.
The lazy man was locked up in HMP Thameside for three months, but with his release after half of that time, he boasted that he was ‘terrified’, but was welcomed by other backers who he claimed were ‘entertained’ by his protests.
He told LBC in January: “My experience of jail has encouraged me to take any future action, regardless of whether jail is a consequence.”
McKechnie stopped the game for seven minutes before stadium staff arrested him with large bolt cutters and dragged him off the field where he was arrested.
He continued: “I feel that if we could save these 8,000 to 30,000 lives that are lost every year to incite poverty, I would spend the rest of my life in prison for it.”
He added: ‘I see the only way these protests will stop is when our demands are met. When the Government acts against the climate crisis, acts against fuel poverty and stands up for its own people. ‘
The latest action comes amid warnings that the Provence region in south-eastern France, depicted in Van Gogh’s peach tree painting, may soon experience a drought after rainfall levels were 45 percent below historical averages.
Just Stop Oil, which has previously held protests at oil terminals and the British government offices in Edinburgh, said it called on art institutions to join the group in ‘civilian resistance’ to climate change.
Two climate activists attached themselves to the iconic 19th-century painting at the Courtauld Gallery in London on Thursday – while demanding that the government end new oil and gas exploration.
McKechnie, from Weymouth in Dorset, said: ‘As a child I loved this painting, my father took me to see it when we visited London. I still love this painting, but I love my friends and family more, I love nature more. I value the future survival of my generation more than my public reputation.
‘The scientists say we need to end fossil fuel licenses and the government is throwing sand in their ears. I’m not prepared to be ripped off by the fossil fuel companies and their government puppets after my death.
‘It is immoral for cultural institutions to assist and watch as our society collapses. Galleries must close. Directors of arts institutions should call on the government to stop all new oil and gas projects immediately. We are either resistant or complicit. ‘
The second protester at today’s art gallery was Emily Brocklebank (24), who is a psychology student from Leeds.
The stunt comes just a day after protesters stuck themselves to Horatio McCulloch’s My Heart Is In The Highlands 19th-century painting in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and spray-painted their logo on the walls and floor of the building. In the photo: Hannah Torrance Bright (20) attached to the portrait yesterday
She added: ‘I am taking action today because I cannot live in a bubble of normality when the society around us is collapsing and people in the global south are suffering like this.
‘Billionaires get richer while nurses queue at food banks, tens of millions of people around the world go hungry and half the world’s population is exposed to extreme danger from heat waves, floods, fires and famine. Meanwhile, the art establishment, the politicians and the fossil fuel companies are looking the other way.
‘I love art, everywhere I go, I visit all the galleries. Art is so important, it captures history and a moment in time, but artists and the art establishment fail us by focusing on the wrong things. We all need to focus on the government’s genocide plans to allow fossil fuel companies to drill for more oil. This is one of the greatest injustices in history. We have to resist. ‘