Greenpeace activists scaled a Shell-operated gas rig in the North Sea and unfurled a 315-square-foot canvas titled "Butchered," designed by artist Anish Kapoor. The activists sprayed crimson paint made from beetroot powder and pond dye across the canvas, creating a blood-like stain intended to symbolize environmental destruction. The work, described as the first fine art exhibited from a working gas rig, was erected during the UK's fourth heat wave of the summer to protest fossil fuel companies' role in climate change.
This protest art matters because it merges high-profile contemporary art with direct environmental activism, targeting Shell after the company reduced its renewable energy investment target. Kapoor's involvement amplifies the message, using his international reputation to draw attention to what he calls "collective amnesia around the real causes of climate breakdown." The action also highlights tensions between protest rights and corporate safety claims, as Shell condemned the trespass while Greenpeace defended civil disobedience as a citizen's duty.