Woman charged over McCubbin painting protest in Western Australia

Video of alleged criminal damage shows a woman spraypainting Woodside logo on artwork in protest of operations near sacred rock art on Burrup peninsula

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Police have charged a woman who defaced an Australian masterpiece in protest against Woodside Energy.

A video released by activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub on Thursday showed a woman spraypainting a Woodside logo on Frederick McCubbin’s Down on his luck, at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She then appeared to glue her hand to the wall, while a man unfurled an Aboriginal flag, made an acknowledgment of country, and spoke about Woodside’s “ongoing desecration of sacred Murujuga rock art”.