One hour detention. On Sunday, two climate activists fixed their hands with glue to the plexiglass protection of Pablo Picasso’s “Massacre in Korea” painting, on display in a Melbourne museum. The painting was not damaged.
Images posted on social media by the Extinction Rebellion movement showed the activists dressed in black, with their hands resting on the artwork, in a room at the National Gallery of Victoria. At their feet, a black banner had been unfolded, with the slogan “Climate Chaos = War + Famine”.
“It is time for everyone to stand up to act”
The protesters – a 49-year-old woman from New South Wales and a 59-year-old man from Melbourne – were “cleared from the picture” more than an hour after they allegedly began their action, police said. They “have been arrested and are assisting the police in their investigation,” she added.
The museum said it called police and closed the exhibit to the public during the incident. “The protesters’ hands were removed from the plexiglass safely and without damage to the artwork,” a spokesperson for the National Gallery of Victoria reported.
Pablo Picasso’s work, made in 1951, “shows the horrors of war”, commented Extinction Rebellion Victoria on its Facebook page. “The deterioration of the climate will lead to an increase in conflicts in the world. Now is the time for everyone and for all institutions to rise up to act! “, pleaded the organization.