The surprising spectacle of splashing soup: Critical reflections on climate protests targeting art

Numerous news media outlets across the world have reported on climate protestors splashing food and paint across some of the world’s most recognisable paintings from van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ to the ‘Mona Lisa’. These events are a type of climate protest that has been gaining popularity in recent years – stunts targeting cultural artefacts and famous artwork to garner media attention. These forms of protest warrant closer analysis for several reasons. In most cases there was no discernable damage to these works of art due to protective glass coverings, yet these (often young) protestors are still depicted, treated and charged as criminals. In this paper, we utilise Guy Debord’s ideas on ‘the spectacle’, ‘détournement’ and ‘recuperation’ to imagine these acts as complex performative and discursive events. Our initial premise emphasises both the unique transformative potential of art activism, and inherent limitations in mobilising change. We present a call for further research and critical reflection on this phenomenon of counter-conduct that uses newsworthy (although nearly harmless) law-breaking to protest inaction on climate change.