By Jesinta Burton
A woman has been charged after allegedly branding an iconic Australian painting at Western Australia’s art gallery with the logo of energy giant Woodside in opposition to the company’s $50 billion mega-project on the Burrup Peninsula.
Photographs emerged on Thursday morning of two people donning “Disrupt Burrup Hub” T-shirts laying an Aboriginal Flag in front of Frederick McCubbin’s 1889 painting Down on His Luck at the Art Gallery of WA.
Ballardong Noongar man Desmond Blurton and ceramic artist Joana Partyka at the Art Gallery of WA on Thursday.
Deemed thoroughly Australian in spirit, the handpainted artwork depicts a sombre swagman sitting by a campfire in bushland near Melbourne and conveys the hardships of rural life. The artwork was covered in perspex and was not damaged.
On Friday, State Security detectives confirmed a 37-year-old Northbridge woman had been charged with one count of criminal damage.
She is due to front Perth Magistrates Court on February 16.
Police alleged that a Perth-based artist sprayed yellow paint before gluing her hand to the gallery wall in protest against Woodside’s Burrup Hub, which she said would release toxic emissions which posed a risk to 50,000 years worth of Indigenous culture and sacred Murujuga rock art.
“Toxic emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub are destroying the oldest, largest rock art gallery in the world,” she said.
“Woodside likes to slap their logo on everything while they spray their toxic emissions all over sacred rock art.
“We must stop any more industry on the Burrup, or soon there will be no art left.”
Ballardong Noongar man Desmond Blurton demanded the project stop, insisting the state must protect Indigenous artwork and cultural heritage.
The protest marked the launch of a fresh campaign against the contentious hub, which encompasses the development of the Scarborough and Browse gas fields and the expansion of two existing gas fields in the state’s north-west.
Woodside’s operations off the north-west coast have drawn intense scrutiny from environmental groups for its climate impacts, with hundreds of appeals and a high-profile lawsuit against the government’s decision to extend the life of its North West Shelf project until 2070.
Current projections indicate the operation would emit more than 4.3 billion tonnes of carbon over that time period.
A source at the gallery told WAtoday it had only recently applied a clear plastic sheet to the artwork in response to other protests in the eastern states and overseas.
A spokesperson from the Art Gallery of WA confirmed the artwork had been covered in perspex and was not damaged, but declined to make any further comment on the incident.
Woodside has long maintained the continued operation of the North West Shelf would unlock new gas supply for West Australian and global customers and underpin the supply of affordable and reliable energy.
A Woodside spokesperson told WAtoday the company respected people’s rights to protest peacefully and lawfully, but stressed its track record spoke for itself.
“Woodside has a proven, more than 35-year track record of safe, reliable and sustainable operations on Murujuga, delivering natural gas to customers in Western Australia and around the world,” the spokesperson said.
“Our environmental approach complies with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and is underpinned by robust science-based decisions.
“Peer-reviewed research has not identified any impacts on Murujuga rock art from industrial emissions associated with liquefied natural gas production.
“Woodside builds long-lasting relationships with the communities where we live and work and we are proud of those partnerships.
“We work closely with Traditional Owners and demonstrate respect for the culture and values of the Indigenous communities where we are active.”
WA Liberal leader David Honey condemned the action, warning a line must be drawn against acts of vandalism to prevent them from becoming normalised in WA.
The protest comes just months after protesters defaced an artwork by Andy Warhol at the National Gallery in a protest against subsidies for fossil fuel companies.