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Extinction Rebellion protesters glued to Picasso painting at National Gallery of Victoria
Two Extinction Rebellion activists glued themselves to Pablo Picasso's Massacre in Korea painting at the National Gallery of Victoria on Sunday. Source: TwitterJohn Ferguson
Associate Editor
@fergusonjw
- 6:22PM October 9, 2022
- 128 Comments
The two protesters, dressed in black, glued themselves to the protective case covering the artist’s painting, Massacre in Korea, in an embarrassing security breach for NGV organisers.
The protesters placed a black banner at their feet, which declared that climate chaos equalled war and famine.
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Victoria Police said three protesters had entered the gallery when a man and a woman glued themselves to the covering of the Picasso painting shortly after noon.
A NSW woman, 49, and a Melbourne man were removed from the painting just after 2pm, the gallery said, after causing considerable disruption.
The pair and a 49-year-old Melbourne man were assisting police investigating the major security breach.
Massacre in Korea is part of a Pablo Picasso exhibition at the NGV developed by the Centre Pompidou and the Musée National Picasso-Paris.
“The exhibition features over 80 works by Picasso alongside over 100 works by more than 50 of his contemporaries, drawn from premier French national collections, as well as the NGV Collection,” the NGV said.
Massacre in Korea is an expressionistic painting that was his third anti-war artwork, depicting a massacre of a group of naked women and children by a firing squad.
Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility for the stunt, one of many conducted by the group in Melbourne in recent years.
“Two Rebels have glued on to the glass of Picasso’s ‘Massacre in Korea’,” the group said in an online post.
“This painting shows the horrors of war. Climate breakdown will mean an increase in conflict around the world. Now is the time for everyone and all institutions to stand up for action!”
The paintings were brought to Australia as part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2022 program, which is a key part of Victoria’s major events calendar.
The paintings are normally smothered in security and brought to Australia in a highly sophisticated manner to prevent artworks from being damaged. It is likely worth many millions of dollars.