Protesters with environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil have dressed a statue of a Greek goddess at the British Museum in an orange high-vis jacket.
The demonstration comes after soup was thrown over two paintings at the National Gallery late last month by three activists with Just Stop Oil, prompting the institution to ban liquids.
At the British Museum on 25 October, Just Stop Oil placed a jacket on the sculpture of Demeter (the goddess of the harvest) and added a speech bubble that read “just stop famine”.
In a statement, the group said it is “demanding that the UK government work with others to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030”.
The latest demonstration, it said, comes after leading scientists issued a warning about the “greatly underestimated” risk of a collapse of the main Atlantic Ocean circulation.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: “Famine or a world without oil. What’s it to be? The climate crisis is threatening our food security and these impacts will only get worse until we stop burning fossil fuels.
“Famine or a world without oil”
“If you think famine only happens elsewhere, think again. Our rich nation status will not protect us from what is coming. A collapse in the Atlantic ocean currents would destroy our ability to grow food and you can’t eat money.”
A spokesperson for the British Museum told the Art Newspaper: “The British Museum respects other people’s right to express their views and allows peaceful protest onsite at the museum as long as there is no risk to the collection, staff or visitors. This incident clearly breached our visitor guidelines, and put objects at risk of harm.”
Just Stop Oil supporter Eddie Whittingham discussed how radical action works to change public opinion and government policy at last year’s greenloop – the sustainability in visitor attractions conference.
Images courtesy of Just Stop Oil
