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He checked one final time to make sure it was protected by glass, just like he\u2019d seen in the pictures. Content it was, he cleared his mind, stepped forward, and removed the cap from the glue. Sticking his head to Vermeer\u2019s Girl With a Pearl Earring <\/em>and unveiling his t-shirt with the words \u201cJust Stop Oil\u201d emblazoned across both sides, Wouter Mouton felt a sense of a calm flow over him; he had achieved what he had set out to do, his part was complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2018 was an important year for Wouter. Greta Thunberg\u2019s Fridays For Future <\/em>school strikes had garnered media attention around the world. Watching a fifteen year old girl take action to spread awareness about climate change from his home in Bruges, Belgium, forty year old Wouter became inspired. \u201cI have to do something too\u2026I want to actually make a difference myself\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After taking part in \u2018non-disruptive\u2019 climate protests for about a year, Wouter was introduced to the ideas of an organisation named Extinction Rebellion. Their self-proclaimed strategy of \u201cnon-violent, disruptive civil obedience\u201d immediately appealed to him. His life as a \u2018disruptive climate activist\u2019 had begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The core ambition of disruptive climate activists is to gain media attention. In doing so, they believe that climate change will become more widely discussed within the media and therefore within society. \u201cIt\u2019s only if you do something special that you have the opportunity to talk about it (climate change<\/em>)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is also a more subtle motive behind these controversial tactics. By engaging in more extreme actions, activists such as Wouter make other climate activists seem more reasonable. \u201cThe groups that don\u2019t do civil obedience, they get more attention and they have more possibilities to get results\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In July 2022, a new disruptive climate action group began to come to the fore; \u201cJust Stop Oil\u201d. This non-hierarchical, leaderless coalition of climate action groups began carrying out disruptive protests in art museums across the UK. Their signature calling card became glueing themselves to famous artworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the protests gaining headlines around the world, copy-cat actions began to take place across Europe. Having taken part in disruptive protests for about three years, and noticing an opportunity to capture the attention of the media, Wouter mimicked the group\u2019s tactics. On 19th July, he glued himself to a Jan van Eyck painting in Brugge. Whilst some media outlets in Belgium reported on the action, there was very little attention paid to his protest outside of the country. As a result, he aimed higher; his next action would attract headlines from newspapers right across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike his protest in the Belgian art gallery, this time Wouter would not be alone. Joining him would be two fellow climate activists, named in various media outlets as Pieter G. and David S. Whilst attempts were made to reach out to both of these men, neither could be contacted for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In choosing an artwork to target, the men knew that the piece had to be a household name in order to attract the attention of international media outlets. It also needed to be within driving distance and, most importantly, they had to be sure the actual artwork itself would not be damaged. \u201cThat was an absolute\u2026we wouldn\u2019t want to risk anything (being damaged<\/em>)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The options were numerous, but in the end the decision was subjective. Having found images on the internet which proved that the painting was indeed protected by glass, Wouter and his activist acquaintances were content with their decision. Vermeer\u2019s Girl With a Pearl Earring<\/em>, housed in the Mauritshuis art museum in the Hague, <\/em>was viewed by Wouter as \u201cthe most famous painting in the Netherlands and Belgium\u201d. As such, it became the designated choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entering the museum on the 27th October, Wouter felt nervous about what was to come. \u201cYou never know what\u2019s going to happen\u201d. Successfully making it past security, he found himself staring directly into the eyes of the girl whose image he had studied so intently over the past number of weeks. But this was no time to hesitate, \u201cYou have to do it. And that\u2019s it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Pieter G. videoed, Wouter stepped towards the painting, focusing only on the tasks he had to complete; \u201cGet the glue out. Show my t-shirt\u201d. As he was doing this, David S. began to pour tomato sauce over Wouter\u2019s head, imitating the actions of previous \u2018Just Stop Oil\u2019 activists. As David S. recited a speech well learned, challenging people to consider their own perceptions regarding the environment, Wouter\u2019s nerves began to subside. \u201cI\u2019m ready to see what\u2019s going to happen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As shocked onlookers shouted \u201cshame on you\u201d at both the men, Wouter unglued himself. Having learned a lot about the properties of glue from his previous protest in Belgium, he had used only a small amount so as to allow himself to safely unstick his head. Once this was completed, he took in the scene. Security guards securing the area and removing the public, various people calling the police; it was a situation he was well accustomed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staying true to his mother\u2019s motto that \u201cyou have to be polite\u201d, Wouter then began to apologise to the security guards for the disruption he had caused to their day. In doing so he wanted to make an important point clear; \u201cIt\u2019s not an action against the museum. It\u2019s not an action against art. I only use it as a platform to spread the message\u201d. Whilst he was waiting for the police to arrive, the director of the museum even paid him a visit. \u201cShe was really angry\u201d. Wouter thought it best to not infuriate her anymore and tactfully decided to say nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unbeknownst to Wouter however, staff at the Mauritshuis had been prepared for a protest like his for some time. Mike van der Steenhoven was the Coordinator for Collection Management on the day the protest took place. Having seen \u201cJust Stop Oil\u201d activists carry out \u2018disruptive protests\u2019 in museums across the continent, he thought it was likely the Mauritshuis could be next. \u201cIt\u2019s either us or the Rijksmuseum\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can Cankin, one of the security guards at the Mauritshuis echoed a similar sentiment to that of Mike van der Steenhoven. Mr.Cankin revealed that even before the 27th October, he had received an email from the head of security at the Mauritshuis warning all security guards to remain vigilant about the chance of a possible protest occurring. We \u201cknew what to do\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the protest occurred, Mr.van der Steenhoven became responsible for preparing a statement to the media. However, he had to work faster than usual. The press had arrived at the museum almost immediately after the protest had been carried out. \u201cThey did know it was gonna happen. It\u2019s the only way you can explain it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having been led away from the museum in hand-cuffs, Wouter entered a room he had become well acquainted with over the past four years; the holding cell. After being interviewed by a number of police officers, he was placed back in his cell fully expecting to be released imminently. \u201cThey always keep me for a few hours and then let me go\u201d. However, this time was different. Later in the evening he was informed that he was going to remain in custody indefinitely, and would be transferred to another prison. \u201cThat was the first time I thought, well maybe they\u2019re going to keep us here for a few days\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wouter\u2019s new surroundings were not an upgrade of any kind. \u201cA police cell is basically a block of concrete with a bench to sleep on, a little table, and a toilet. And you stay there for twenty-two hours a day\u201d. This is where he lived for the next six days, waiting for his fast-tracked trial to conclude. \u201cThat was mentally pretty hard\u201d. But he still had hope. In Belgium, he had been given community service for a similar act. \u201cWe still thought\u2026of course she\u2019s (the judge) <\/em>gonna release us\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But she didn\u2019t. Alongside Pieter G., Wouter was sentenced to two months in prison, with one month suspended. \u201cI was surprised\u201d. However, he had been preparing himself for this outcome ever since he first began engaging in disruptive protests. \u201cI was mentally prepared to go to prison. I knew it would happen eventually\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sentence of two months in prison is certainly on the higher level of the sentencing scale for a case of this kind in the Netherlands. As highlighted in a Trouw <\/em>article <\/em>by Dan Marseilles written on 25th November 2022, an inventory compiled by an associate professor from the University of Groningen shows that in 176 cases of a similar nature from 2016 to 2020, prison terms were only imposed by the judge in ten cases. In all of these cases, the person convicted had perpetrated an act of violence. Wouter\u2019s sentence is even more surprising due to the fact that the museum itself did not press charges, the frame and back panel of the painting were the only parts that were damaged, repairs cost 2000 euros, and Wouter had tried to limit the damage by wiping some of the tomato sauce from the frame with his t-shirt. In sentencing both men, the judge declared that she wanted to discourage others from engaging in similar actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unprecedented nature of the sentence was not lost on Wouter. He felt that negative media coverage of his actions helped to influence the judge\u2019s decision. Tim de Boer, a representative for the left-leaning Haagse StadsPartij, also believes that judges and the police are subjective in their application of the law. Referring to sentences handed out to climate protestors he said, \u201cI think most sentences are really harsh\u201d. He even knows of cases in which Extinction Rebellion protestors were threatened with six months in immigrant detention facilities due to the fact that they had no ID on them when they were arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following his conviction, Wouter was transferred to a prison. \u201cIt was more normal\u201d. During his time there, he shared a cell with an inmate who was originally from Spain. \u201cHe was actually a really calm and gentle man\u2026everything was new to me and he offered me some help with food and shampoo and stuff like that\u201d. However, incarceration did not succeed in eliminating the activist within Wouter. \u201cI actually made a few people very, very aware. And they might be interested in joining Extinction Rebellion after prison\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet the hardest part of prison was not what was around Wouter, but what wasn\u2019t around him; his mother and his nine year old daughter. With phone time being limited, only practical matters were discussed when speaking to his loved ones. \u201cWe weren\u2019t really able to speak about\u2026emotions and the conditions because everything had to happen quickly\u201d. For Wouter, there is a sense of guilt about the impact his actions have had on his family. \u201cThey don\u2019t choose it. They kind of have to accept that it happens\u201d. A month after his conviction, he was reunited with his family in Belgium having been released from prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opinions about Wouter\u2019s actions vary greatly depending on who you speak to. Mike van der Steenhoven, refers to it as \u201ca crime against art\u201d. He believes that actions of this kind will result in museums placing \u201ctheir art further away from the visitors\u201d. Tim de Boer and the Haagse StadsPartij remain \u201copen to other means of protest\u201d such as disruptive actions. Anno Fekkes, a representative of D66, another left leaning political party in the Hague, believes that in an international city there are better places to protest than art museums. As for Wouter Mouton, he remains steadfast in his determination to disrupt the status quo. \u201cI have no regrets\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On 27th October 2022, in a protest related to climate change, Wouter Mouton glued himself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-investigative"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/padraigcorrigan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}