Opted to revisit a work from 2019 , ‘FINIS: Will humans be the agent
of their own mass extinction?’ that was intended as a representation
of the sixth extinction, the Anthropocene, with a focus specifically
on fossil fuels.

Since then, ‘Just Stop Oil’ have been using disruptive action to raise
awareness of the climate emergency. An early activity that involved
throwing tomato soup over one of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings
generated much controversy. The work was behind protective glass and
there was no intention of harming it, despite what some media outlets
may say. As expected, the act appeared to horrify more people than the
potential collapse of our planet.

As the creator of ‘FINIS: Will humans be the agent of their own mass
extinction?’, I made the decision to dramatically alter my work to
reflect Just Stop Oil’s activism, the difference being that I have
deliberately thrown oil paint, not soup, over the work as a permanent
statement. What’s more important, an artwork or the future of our
planet?

When it comes to Just Stop Oil’s tactics, the real question should be
asked; why would someone be motivated to do such a thing, especially
young people? By targeting something so familiar to many of us, a
nerve was struck and kickstarted conversation about what really
matters, the urgent need for a transition to clean energy and a demand
to the end of all new oil and gas exploration. Our planet is already
reaching the tipping point of thresholds where Earth systems collapse.
We would be better directing our anger and energy at those who have
vested interests in maintaining the status quo.

Ask yourself, who are the real criminals here? Those attempting to
prevent the vandalism of a living planet, or those facilitating its
demise?

Our planet isn’t protected by glass.