Activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers

Just Stop Oil is the group behind the tomato soup demonstrations, advocating against environmental damage caused by oil extraction. Friday, three supporters from this group disrupted Van Gogh's exhibition at the National Gallery in London by throwing tomato soup on "Sunflowers 1888" and "Sunflowers 1889."

One protester named Phil Green asserts that “Future generations will regard these prisoners of conscience to be on the right side of history,”

Protester Ludi Simpson said that “We will be held accountable for our actions today, and we will face the full force of the law. When will the fossil fuel executives and the politicians they’ve bought be held accountable for the criminal damage that they are imposing on every living thing?”

Following Plummer's arrest and two-year prison sentence for damaging Van Gogh's artwork, this protest took place. Holland received 20 months.

The pair were found guilty of perpetuating criminal damage at the time of the protest in 2022. The sentencing judge said in sentencing he took into consideration both the damage caused to the frame and the potential for greater damage to be caused to the art piece had their knot been a glass covering on the piece.

The judge notes that “Section 63 of the sentencing code requires me, in assessing the seriousness of your offending, to consider not only the harm your offence caused, but also the harm it might foreseeably have caused. For the reasons I have explained, that foreseeable harm is incalculable. Your offending is so serious that only custodial sentences are appropriate.”