Two climate activists with Extinction Rebellion were arrested Sunday after gluing themselves to a Picasso painting at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
The activists glued themselves to the glass covering of “Picasso’s Massacre in Korea,” standing alongside a banner that read “Climate Chaos = War and Famine,” highlighting the connection between climate breakdown and human suffering, the organization said on Twitter.
“‘If we continue on our current path, we will face the collapse of everything that gives us our security,’ leading to conflict,” the group said, quoting naturalist and TV host David Attenborough.
Victoria police said they believe the protesters entered the ground level of the gallery before a man and woman glued themselves to the covering at around 12:40 p.m. local time.
The 49-year-old woman from the state of New South Wales and a 59-year-old man from the Melbourne suburbs were removed from the painting just after 2 p.m.
The two were arrested, as well as a 49-year-old man, according to Victoria police.
Extinction Rebellion said no art was harmed in the incident.
Climate change is on course to transform life on Earth as we know it, and unless global warming is dramatically slowed, billions of people and other species will reach points where they can no longer adapt to the new normal, according to a major UN-backed report released this year.
Based on years of research from hundreds of scientists, the report found that the impacts from human-caused climate change were larger than previously thought, with the report’s authors warning these impacts are happening much faster and are more disruptive and widespread than scientists expected 20 years ago.
Those who contribute the least to the problem are the worst affected, experts added in the report.