Climate protester smears paint on Tom Thomson artwork at National Gallery of Canada
One of Canadian artist Tom Thomson’s paintings got an unwelcome addition of pink on Tuesday from a climate protester.
The activist smeared pink paint on Thomson’s 1914-15 “Northern River” at the National Gallery of Canada in protest of Ottawa’s “lack of action on the climate crisis” and to push for a National Firefighting Agency.
A video of the protest was posted on social media by a group called On2Ottawa. The group describes itself as a “non-violent civil disobedience campaign designed to encourage Canadian governments to take urgent and meaningful action on the climate crisis.”
The footage shows an activist wearing a pink shirt smudging pink paint onto the famous painting and then gluing their hand to the floor.
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“Fossil fuel industries are destroying the work of art that is our planet and our government is firmly in their grip doing nothing to stop their crimes,” reads the protester, whose name is Kaleb, according to an Instagram post by On2Ottawa. “Anthropogenic climate change is leading to hotter, dryer summers in Canada.”
Kaleb goes on to talk about how the wildfires raging across the country are affecting the environment and citizens, particularly Indigenous communities.
The National Gallery of Canada responded to the incident in a statement, saying the painting was not damaged and that Ottawa police have arrested the individual.
“The gallery immediately implemented security protocols and the Ottawa Police Service arrested the individual,” reads the statement.
“The work was displayed in a protective glazed panel and has been taken out from display for further evaluation. We expect it will be rehung shortly.”
This isn’t the first time climate activists have targeted famous works of art.
The most recent incident in Canada was when climate protesters threw maple syrup on an Emily Carr painting last November.
Anti-oil protesters made headlines last May for throwing tomato soup on a famous Van Gogh piece.
And someone tried to wipe away the Mona Lisa’s smile by smearing cake on it last year.
These activist are certainly getting people’s attention no matter their cause.
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