Animal rights activists made headlines today after their involvement vandalizing a portrait of King Charles that hangs in the National Gallery in London. The painting, which was painted by Jonathan Yeo, was just unveiled in May but was marred when two individuals decided to deface it with a giant Wallace head from the animated television series, “Wallace and Gromit.”
A video of the incident, which quickly went viral, shows the activists pasting the Wallace head over Charles’ face along with a speech bubble that read: “No cheese Gromit, look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!” It was later revealed that the Animal Rising group claimed responsibility for the act. They posted a tweet stating, “Click the link to find out why he has been Wallaced,” leading viewers to a website that provided more information about their cause.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity in the UK that aims to promote animal welfare. Their label, “RSPCA Assured,” is said to verify that the animals used for the product were raised in humane conditions. However, the animal rights activists claim to have found instances of poor animal welfare on 45 of the sanctioned farms. The defacement was an attempt to raise awareness about this issue.
Protests using art as a medium to raise awareness for important causes have become increasingly common in recent years. Examples include a can of soup being thrown at the Mona Lisa in Paris by protestors in January and a similar incident with Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” artwork back in 2022.
Meanwhile, Aardman Animations, the studio responsible for “Wallace and Gromit,” has a new project in the works. The upcoming feature, entitled “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” will arrive on Netflix this winter. The company was founded in 1972 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton and has been entertaining audiences with its stop-motion animated films for nearly five decades. Their most successful film to-date is “Chicken Run,” which grossed over $225 million worldwide
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