Alex Margo Arden says ‘symbolic damage’ helped force public conversation about climate crisis

Protesters who targeted paintings to raise awareness of the climate crisis were using an “effective” tactic also used by the Suffragettes, according to an artist whose new show focuses on recent attacks on high-profile artworks.

Alex Margo Arden, whose debut exhibition, Safety Curtain, opens this week at Auto Italia in east London, said the “symbolic damage” caused to the images, which were protected by glass, helped force a public conversation about the climate crisis.