It’s only been over a month since its unveiling, but the first official portrait of King Charles III has already been mired in ridicule, many drawing connections to the crimson background that artist Jonathon Yeo chose to paint as the blood spilled over centuries of British imperialism around the world. Animal rights activists have added an extra layer of scorn by (literally) defacing the painting of Charles.
The portrait is currently on view to the public at London’s Philip Mould Gallery until June 21, where today two Animal Rising activists proceeded in pasting a cartoon face of the character Wallace, from Wallace & Gromit, over the King’s head, with a speech bubble saying, “No cheese Gromit, look at all of this cruelty on RSCPA farms.” As the world’s oldest and largest animal welfare organization, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is supposed to assure that animals raised on RSPCA farms are protected through adequate space to roam around and never kept in cages.
Animal Rising recently launched a thorough investigation into RSPCA, concluding that “the whole barrel is rotten”, referring to the series of abuses found across its approved farms in the UK. “With King Charles being such a big fan of Wallace & Gromit,” Animal Rising previously told The Telegraph, “we couldn’t think of a better way to draw his attention to the horrific scenes on RSPCA Assured farms! Even though we hope this is amusing to His Majesty, we also call on him to seriously reconsider if he wants to be associated with the awful suffering across farms being endorsed by the RSPCA.”
No damage was caused to the painting, according to Philip Mould, who will continue to display the portrait with heightened security. And while the RSPCA said it will look into these allegations, they also denounced “illegal activity of any kind” to raise awareness towards these issues. Both activists walked out the gallery after being asked by security and the gallery filed a police report to follow.
