By James Massola and Fleta Page
An attempt by two protesters to glue themselves to Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup artwork at the National Gallery of Australia has come unstuck after the women used poor quality glue and fled the scene.
In a video posted by climate change protest group Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies on Wednesday, one of the women is seen covering her hand with glue and sticking it to one of the ten pictures in the exhibit inside the Canberra gallery before announcing “we are in a climate emergency”.
Protesters glue themselves to Warhol Campbell’s Soup display at the National Gallery of Australia.Credit: Twitter
The artworks on the bottom row of the exhibit were also defaced with blue spray paint.
The group claimed in the tweet they were “highlighting the danger of capitalism”.
Bonnie Cassen, named as one of the protesters in a statement shared by the activist group, said “Andy Warhol depicted consumerism gone mad in this iconic series. And now we have capitalism gone mad”.
“Families are having to choose between medicine and food for their children while fossil fuel companies return record profits,” she said.
The protesters attempted to glue themselves to the painting for about 30 seconds before security guards intervened and the glue did not have time to set, a gallery source said.
The protesters left before they could be detained.
An ACT Policing spokesperson said the force had responded to reports of the incident at the gallery at about 11.15am, and no arrests have been made. Police are asking anyone who witnesses suspicious activity in the Parliamentary Triangle to call 131 444.
The Warhol paintings had a clear plastic cover over them and the spray paint scrawled on the painting will be easily removed, but the paintings – which appeared undamaged – were taken down as a precaution before being rehung later in the afternoon.
The Andy Warhol exhibit after the defaced artworks were removed. Credit: James Massola
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the National Gallery confirmed a protest had taken place at the gallery “following similar incidents elsewhere in Australia and overseas”.
“The National Gallery does not wish to promote these actions and has no further comment.”
The gallery was asked why the two protesters were not detained by security guards who were at the scene of the incident. The spokeswoman declined to comment on security measures.
It is the second high-profile protest by the activist group in the last week. Last Friday a protester was escorted out of Parliament House in Canberra after gluing her hand to an artwork in a public area of the building.
That protester, who was wearing a “stop fossil fuel subsidies” T-shirt, stuck her hand to the perspex screen covering a Dora Meeson banner, part of an exhibition of suffrage in Australia.
Climate activists worldwide are using demonstrations in front of famous artworks to draw attention to their causes.
In October climate activist Phoebe Plummer threw tomato soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery. While the painting was behind glass, the soup caused minor damage to the frame.
With AAP