Looking Back: Young supporters of Just Stop Oil glue themselves to a Constable at the National Gallery - July 4th, 2022
They are calling for the government to end new oil and gas licenses and for art institutions to join them in civil resistance.
Widely regarded as John Constable’s most famous painting, the Hay Wain (1821) carries a view of the millpond at Flatford on the River Stour in Suffolk. The reimagined version carries a nightmare scene that demonstrates how oil will destroy our countryside. The river has gone, to be replaced by a road, airplanes fill the sky, pollution belches from cities on the horizon, trees are scorched by wildfires, an old car is dumped in front of the Mill and the famous Hay Wain cart carries an old washing machine.
Hannah Hunt, 23 a psychology student from Brighton said, “...You can forget our ‘green and pleasant land’ when further oil extraction will lead to widespread crop failures which means we will be fighting for food. Ultimately, new fossil fuels are a death project by our government. So yes there is glue on the frame of this painting but there is blood on the hands of our government…”
Eben Lazarus, 22, a music student from Brighton said, “...We have covered the Hay Wain with a reimagined version that illustrates the impact of our addiction to fossil fuels on our countryside. The painting is an important part of our heritage, but it is not more important than the 3.5 billion men, women and children already in danger because of the climate crisis...”
From Jonathan Pie YouTube: "The Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak) claims these hundred new UK fossil fuel projects are key to meeting Net Zero targets and ensuring energy security for the future. Some environmental groups aren't so sure. Well it makes complete sense to me for once. If you've got enough of your own gas and oil you don't have to rely on other people's and you don't have to import the stuff which gives it a lower carbon footprint. It makes a lot of sense. At least it would if it stood up to any kind of scrutiny whatsoever. Eighty percent of our oil is exported. I mean if it's shit for the planet to import it, then it stands to reason that it's just as bad to export it. Most of our imported gas comes from Norway, anyways, so it's not like we're shipping it in from fucking Alaska. Scotland already produces six times more gas than it needs. So his argument is complete bullshit. The truth is these licenses are of course going to multinationals who have no interest whatsoever in the UK's domestic energy needs. Which means this new gas and oil is just as likely to end up in Timbuktu as it is Stoke-on-Trent(a city in England). this has nothing to do with energy security or Net Zero. It's to do with money. It's what Sunak does best. Make money. He's got a fuck ton of the stuff - trust me."
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