Greenpeace activists have installed a new work by artist Anish Kapoor on to a Shell platform in the North Sea to protest against the firm’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
Kapoor conceived the piece, titled BUTCHERED, specifically for the protest on the Skiff platform, which is located 45 nautical miles off the Norfolk coast, the campaign group said.
Seven climbers suspended a huge 12-metre by eight-metre canvas on one side of the structure on Wednesday.
They then hoisted up a high-press hose before pumping 1,000 litres of blood-red liquid – made from seawater, beetroot powder and food-based pond dye – across the fabric to create a crimson stain.
Greenpeace said the climbers were highly experienced and boarded the platform safely.
The work intends to visualise the wound inflicted on humanity and Earth by emissions from the fossil fuels industry.
Greenpeace noted the action comes as heatwaves, wildfires and floods have hit Europe and elsewhere in the world this month, with scientists saying their frequency and intensity is driven by human-induced climate change.
Shell is among the fossil fuel giants planning major expansions in its operations despite warnings from scientists and energy experts that no new extraction projects are needed if the world aims to limit dangerous global warming.
Kapoor said: “The carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels is invisible, but we are witnessing the devastation that its extraction wreaks on our world.
“What still remains largely hidden is the responsibility oil giants like Shell bear for causing this destruction and profiting from worldwide suffering.
“I wanted to make something visual, physical, visceral to reflect the butchery they are inflicting on our planet: a visual scream that gives voice to the calamitous cost of the climate crisis, often on the most marginalised communities across the globe.”
Kapoor is the latest figure to join the “polluters pay pact”, a global Greenpeace initiative backed by politicians, firefighters, unions, humanitarian groups and tens of thousands of people.
The artist, whose world-famous work includes the Cloud Gate sculpture, also known as the Bean, in Chicago, said his new piece aims to “bring home the horror, giving voice to the moral and physical destruction caused by ruthless profiteers”, and pay tribute to activists who chose to “disrupt, disagree and disobey”.
Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “Extreme weather is hitting close to home, but the extraction of fossil fuels driving the climate crisis is often out of sight.
“This artwork is a visual gut-punch that makes visible the suffering and damage caused by the oil and gas industry right at the place where the harm begins.”
The campaign group called on the UK Government to place new polluter taxes on oil and gas companies, such as a levy on extraction and on shareholders in fossil fuel firms, to help raise funds for climate-impacted communities at home and abroad.
A Shell UK spokesperson said: “Safety at sea is our priority.
“Greenpeace entered a restricted safety zone around the platform without permission, which is established under UK law to protect people and prevent collisions.
“Their actions were extremely dangerous, involved illegally trespassing, and put their own and others’ lives at risk.
“We respect the right of individuals and organisations to protest, but it must be done safely and lawfully.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We will not issue new licences to explore new fields.
“Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills and good, long-term jobs.”
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