In two separate incidents, activists attacked statues of Queen Victoria in Glasgow, Scotland, to protest against rising living costs.
The first incident occurred at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on March 3rd. The protestors vandalized a marble bust of Queen Victoria, built by Francis John Williamson in 1888. They threw porridge and jam on the bust, while also spray-painting the word “cunt” on the platform. “We refuse to be dragged back to the Victorian era. Diseases of starvation including scurvy and rickets are on the rise,” one of the protestors exclaimed.
The second incident occurred on March 4th at Geroge Square. Here, two protestors defaced a bronze statue of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with fire extinguishers filled with soup. The statue was made by Italian-French sculptor Carlo Marochetti.
Later, a group called This Is Rigged claimed responsibility for both attacks. According to the group, the attacks were meant to highlight the rising cost of food in the country, as well as its relation to climate change. The group also demanded supermarkets to lower the price of baby foods, as well as for the government to subsidize food hubs. A spokesperson for the group said: “Any potential damage a bit of porridge could do to a marble bust is absolutely negligible compared to the damage currently being done to our communities.”
The two protestors at the Kelvingrove Museum were arrested and charged with “breach of peace”. The museum was closed after the incident but later reopened once the sculpture was cleaned. It is not yet confirmed if the protestors at George Square would be similarly arrested and charged.