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Convicted child rapist qualifies for Olympic team

<p>A convicted child rapist has qualified to represent The Netherlands at the upcoming 2024 Olympics. </p> <p>Steven van de Velde will head to Paris in July to represent the country in beach volleyball, much to the dismay of many. </p> <p>Van de Velde's selection has caused outrage given he pleaded guilty to three counts of rape in 2014 and was sentenced to four years in jail.</p> <p>He was convicted in 2016 and only served one year behind bars. </p> <p>The athlete, now 29, admitted to meeting the then 12-year-old on Facebook before travelling to England from Amsterdam to meet her when he raped her, after being aware of her age. </p> <p>At the 2016 sentencing, the judge labelled Van de Velde's Olympic aspirations a "shattered dream" due to the conviction.</p> <p>However, the Netherlands Olympic Committee (NOC) have given him another chance, despite the fact that the British Olympic Committee is allegedly uncomfortable with the Van de Velde selection.</p> <p>"Since 2018, Steven van de Velde has been participating in international beach volleyball tournaments again following an intensive, professionally supervised trajectory," the NOC said in a statement.</p> <p>Despite the unusual selection, the International Olympic Committee allows each nation to select its own athletes and does not veto any picks.</p> <p>Following his release from jail, Van de Velde said in an interview in 2018, "I made that choice in my life when I wasn't ready, I was a teenager still figuring things out."</p> <p>"I was sort of lost and now I have so much more life experience, aside from just being incarcerated. Any form of help would have been very very helpful, maybe that's what I would have told myself, seek help."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Xinhua News Agency/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

Legal

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Dick Van Dyke channels iconic character ahead of 98th birthday

<p>Dick Van Dyke's still got it. </p> <p>The TV and film legend was captured reenacting the iconic chimney sweep dance from the 1964 film <em>Mary Poppins, </em>just days before his 98th birthday. </p> <p>A behind-the-scenes clip of the<em> </em>actor filming his upcoming TV special <em>Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic</em>, was shared on Instagram by Christina Karlin with the caption: “Celebrating this legend today.”</p> <p>The actor looked dapper in a suit, as he playfully performed a jazz square from the iconic film, using a cane for balance. </p> <p>Just last month US network <em>CBS </em>announced that they would be releasing a two-hour show celebrating Van Dyke’s upcoming birthday in a special way by taking a look back at his career spanning over seven decades. </p> <p>The special “will travel back in time to the iconic set of The Dick Van Dyke Show and feature dazzling music and dance spectacles, heartfelt performances, special guests and a magical holiday number,” a press release from the network read. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0owRS6LePe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0owRS6LePe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Dick Van Dyke's 98th Birthday (@dvdturns98)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>It will also feature archival footage and songs from the Grammy winner's career, including iconic films like <em>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang</em>, <em>Mary Poppins</em> and <em>Bye Bye Birdie</em>.</p> <p>Following the announcement of TV special, Van Dyke said it was an honour to film the show with CBS, who have worked with him since 1955. </p> <p>“I’ve been with the CBS family for almost 70 years, and I couldn’t be prouder," Van Dyke said at the time. </p> <p>“I’m incredibly honoured that CBS will be throwing a 98th birthday special for me,” he added. “Can’t wait to be part of the show!”</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram/ Getty</em></p>

TV

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"Am I dreaming?": Prince William serves up burgers from food van

<p>The Prince of Wales has stunned a few unsuspecting customers of a London food truck by serving them burgers. </p> <p>In collaboration with popular YouTube channel<em> Sorted Food</em>, Prince William took part in the stunt to promote The Earthshot Prize, a mission he founded in hopes to repair the planet. </p> <p>They worked together to create a plant-based 'Earthshot burger', which they served to customers, in the clip shared on YouTube. </p> <p>As part of the stunt, Prince William first hid his identity by facing away from the customers, when it was time to serve the food, he turned around with burgers in hand to the shock of the diners. </p> <p>"My brain took three seconds to buffer - am I dreaming?" one said after seeing Prince William serving burgers. </p> <p>"I was lost for words," said another. </p> <p>"I was shell-shocked" said a third. </p> <p>The Prince of Wales also praised last year's Earthshot Prize winners, and explained that the dishes served used three of their innovations, which all represented a solution to help repair the planet. </p> <p>"For those of you who don't know, the Earthshot Prize is there to repair and regenerate the planet. Everything you see here comes from the winners from last year," he said.</p> <p>The ingredients for the burgers were sourced by Indian start-up Kheyti, who support local farmers and help shelter their crops from unpredictable weather events and pests. </p> <p>The burgers were cooked in a cleaner-burning portable stove from Mukuru Clean Stoves, which aims to reduce air pollution, and the food was served on Notpla takeaway containers made from natural and biodegradable materials. </p> <p>This is the verdict from the diners: "the best burger we've ever had."</p> <p>The Prince also joked with diners saying that the global Earthshot Prize started back when he "had hair."</p> <p>"It's designed as an environmental prize tackling the world's greatest environmental problems,"  he said. </p> <p>"We liked the idea that this is a big deal, this is like something we really need to aim for, but it's about saving the planet, not taking us to the moon."</p> <p>He added:  "And there's many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I'm like, hang on, let's not give up on this planet yet."</p> <p><em>Images: Kensington Palace/ Sorted Food YouTube</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Dick Van Dyke injured in car crash

<p>Dick Van Dyke has suffered "minor injuries" after being involved in a car crash in California. </p> <p>The 97-year-old actor's silver Lexus collided with a gate in Malibu on Wednesday, as police officers were called to the scene of the collision. </p> <p>A spokesman for the Malibu Police Department confirmed to CNN that Van Dyke had suffered "minor injuries" in the crash. </p> <p>Other reports claim the actor was bleeding from the nose and mouth after the incident, as he was reportedly treated by paramedics at the scene, but not taken to hospital.</p> <p>The crash comes just weeks after Van Dyke, who is preparing to celebrate his 98th birthday, became the oldest contestant to appear on <em>The Masked Singer</em>. </p> <p>On the show, Van Dyke performed Frank Sinatra's <em>When You're Smiling</em>, which his wife, Arlene Silver, helped him pick.</p> <p>"They wanted me to do something current and I know nothing from rock," Van Dyke told People at the time.</p> <p>"So we picked out one which typifies me. She's the one that came up with it and I liked the song, too."</p> <p>The Hollywood legend recently <a href="https://oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/relationships/dick-van-dyke-reveals-the-secret-to-feeling-young-at-98" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke out</a> about defying the ageing process in an interview with Yahoo, saying there are four key things that help him maintain his youthful vigour and zest for life. </p> <p>Firstly, he credited his good genes for helping him stay young later in life. </p> <p>Secondly, the actor said that his 51-year-old wife, Arlene Silver, was instrumental in helping him feel young.</p> <p>“Having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me (helps),” the actor gushed over his spouse of 11 years.</p> <p>Van Dyke also added that a “positive attitude” was key to keeping healthy, stating, “I get that from my wife.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Painting by four-legged Van Gogh sells for five figures

<p dir="ltr">A very good boy named Van Gogh has raised a hefty sum of money for a good cause. </p> <p dir="ltr">The one-eared four-legged artist has used his extraordinary talents to create his own rendition of his namesake’s masterpiece <em>Starry Night</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">At an online benefit auction for the <a href="https://www.happilyfureverafter.org/">Happily Furever After Rescue</a> in Connecticut, USA, pet food company Pedigree paid $10,000 for the artwork. </p> <p dir="ltr">The rescue home was the one that found Van Gogh his new forever home, after sharing his artistic talents online. </p> <p dir="ltr">All the proceeds of Van Gogh the dog’s auction will benefit the rescue efforts of Happily Furever After, which specialises in rehoming dogs like pit bulls, who can sometimes have a hard time finding homes.</p> <p dir="ltr">The paintings in the current auction, titled “<em>Van Gogh Reimagined</em>,” are all based on compositions by the original Van Gogh.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, unlike a painting by the Dutch master, the dog’s art starts the bidding at just $25 a piece.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Having Van Gogh create some of history’s most famous paintings felt like big shoes to fill,” founder Jaclyn Gartner told <a href="https://news.artnet.com/market/van-gogh-rescue-dog-charity-auction-2264707">Artnet News</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr">“There was a lot more attention to detail this time around to make sure to incorporate all the colours and try to recreate the pieces as closely as possible.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Since finding his new home, Van Gogh has created more than 150 new works of art. </p> <p dir="ltr">To make each masterpiece, a person applies blobs of colours of paint to a canvas placed inside a plastic bag. </p> <p dir="ltr">The talented dog then completes the artwork by licking off a coating of peanut butter or other dog-friendly treats from the outside of the bag, making the artwork inside. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The most exciting part about Van Gogh painting is never really knowing what it’s going to come out to look like as it depends on how his tongue slides across the peanut butter coated bag,” Gartner said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Since we did the art gallery in October, Van Gogh has explored more tasty toppings,” she added. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We have begun incorporating other things like ground up liverwurst, pumpkin puree, and goat whip. Painting has become an even more delicious hobby for Van Gogh!“</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Happily Furever After Rescue</em></p>

Art

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Iconic UK actor proudly reveals new name

<p style="color: #0e101a; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">A</span>ctor and comedian Eddie Izzard has revealed the name she’s always wanted after changing her pronouns to “she” and “her”.</p> <p>Izzard shared her new name, admitting that it’s what she has wanted to be called since she was 10 years old.</p> <p>On an episode of The Political Party podcast, the British icon, 61, said, “I’m gonna be Suzy Eddie Izzard.</p> <p>“I’ll put Suzy there and then Eddie and then people can choose what they want and no one can go wrong,” <em>The Sun</em> reported.</p> <p>She added, “I’ve wanted to be S-U-Z-Y since I was 10.</p> <p>“That’s how I’m gonna roll so people can choose what they want. They can’t make a mistake; they can’t go wrong.”</p> <p>In December 2020, the British comedian and former political candidate was dubbed a “trailblazer” by fans when she first asked to use the pronouns “she” and “her” during the filming of the UK TV show, Portrait Artist Of The Year, revealing she was “gender fluid”.</p> <p>The transition, however, has been 35 years in the making. Izzard first came out as a transvestite in 1985. In 2021, she told <em>The Guardian</em> that as far as she was concerned, being a transvestite simply meant being transgender without physically transitioning. She now identifies as a trans woman and wants to be “based in girl mode”.</p> <p>The comedian also admitted, “I make mistakes with my own pronouns.”</p> <p>She then spoke to the podcast about political ambitions after not being selected at the UK Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Sheffield Central in 2022.</p> <p>“I will keep going until I get in,” she said.</p> <p>Prior to the TV show in late 2020, Izzard also requested in 2019 to be described as “she” while receiving an honorary degree at Swansea University.</p> <p>The press release from the ceremony described her using female pronouns with a university spokesperson confirming, “we were asked by Eddie to use her/she pronouns.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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So, you want to live tiny? Here’s what to consider when choosing a house, van or caravan

<p>The reasons for choosing to go tiny range from reducing debt, inability to afford a conventional home, the search for sustainability, a life crisis, or even <a href="https://theconversation.com/architecture-of-doom-diy-planning-for-global-catastrophe-31836">preparing for an uncertain future</a> in the face of climate change by going off-grid. Or perhaps a combination of these.</p> <p>An important first step is to decide what type of tiny house you want. To many, the phrase “tiny house” brings to mind an archetypal tiny house on wheels, a miniature cottage on a trailer, often made of wood, with a pitched roof and dormer windows. </p> <p>Indeed, most tiny housers prefer some degree of mobility, whether a ready-made or DIY tiny house, converted caravan or bus/van. A survey by the <a href="https://australiantinyhouseassociation.org.au/">Australian Tiny House Association </a>found most (78% of 109 respondents) lived in tiny houses on wheels, but a small but growing proportion live in converted caravans, vans or buses.</p> <h2>Why do you want to go tiny?</h2> <p>First you need to evaluate your motives, which may differ according to your situation or stage of life. The most important question here is, how often do you want to move? </p> <p>Do you want to be ultra-mobile, and live like a digital nomad, perhaps in a “stealth van” in the city, changing parking spaces every night? Or do you want to travel around Australia like a “grey nomad”, staying in caravan parks or roadside camps for a week or so before moving on? </p> <p>Alternatively, do you want to be more settled, perhaps moving occasionally, to be closer to work, medical facilities or schools for children? (Yes, some tiny housers have children). Or do you want to travel between the houses of adult children or do petsitting, staying from weeks to months?</p> <p>Many off-the-shelf caravans are extremely well designed and are accepted everywhere, at caravan parks or roadside parking areas. On the other hand, a tiny house on wheels is less mobile, and not suited to frequent moving (they are also extremely heavy, not aerodynamic and large tow vehicles are costly). </p> <p>They’re also less accepted in caravan parks, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2019.1632358">most local councils consider them caravans</a>, with restricted periods of occupancy and often onerous conditions. Vans and buses are the most flexible (in the “stealth van” or vanlife movement, people live rent-free by parking, mostly illegally, often in industrial estates, and using public or work/gym bathrooms). </p> <p>They are, however, extremely small and while it may seem glamorous to live in a van like celebrity rock climber <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d1ac7b02-34f8-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5">Alex Honnold</a>, the reality may not be practical.</p> <h2>What can you afford?</h2> <p>Cost will likely be the next factor to consider. <a href="https://tinyrealestate.com.au/what-does-a-tiny-house-cost/">Ready-built tiny houses range from around A$50,000 - $120,000</a>; DIY are cheaper, especially if self-built, with some costing under $2,000. The higher end, architect-designed ones are more expensive.</p> <p>Converted caravans can be affordable, even under $10,000, but prices vary markedly, with some ultra-luxurious five-wheelers costing more than a typical suburban house (&gt;$600,000). </p> <p>Converting old buses and vans is much cheaper, with the cost of the vehicle tending to be under $20,000. Of note, unless you are living <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2019.1636837">under the radar</a> or free camping, you are going to have to factor in the ongoing cost of renting someone’s backyard or caravan park space.</p> <p> </p> <div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.instagram.com/p/B6y6fT6nEOE&quot;,&quot;accessToken&quot;:&quot;127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20&quot;}"> </div> <h2>How sustainable is your choice?</h2> <p>Sustainability is a more nuanced aspect of tiny house living; living small means less energy needed for heating and less room for superfluous stuff, encouraging or enforcing a minimalist lifestyle. </p> <p>Most tiny houses on wheels are off-grid to some extent, relying on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2019.1634111">solar power, rainwater and composting toilets</a>. They are often built entirely out of sustainable or reclaimed materials. </p> <p>On the other hand, most caravans and vans are not particularly sustainable — they’re often built out of mass-produced material and may produce outgassing from carpets and paints. Vans and busses are generally no more or less sustainable than any similar vehicle. </p> <h2>What kind of life do you want?</h2> <p>Tiny houses, whatever the type, are just that: tiny. Space is at a premium and living tiny requires reducing stuff, such as clothes, sporting and hobby equipment. Tiny houses on wheels, where parked more permanently, allow for decks and even sheds, but caravans and vans are self contained, unless in a permanent caravan park. </p> <p>If you are used to living in a very large space, it may take time to adapt to the practicalities of tiny living; people often complain about cooking smells and composting toilets.</p> <p>Despite the popularity of tiny houses however, very few people actually live in them. Nonetheless, the vast majority of people who live or have lived tiny, <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-tiny-house-whats-it-like-and-how-can-it-be-made-better-110495">view their experience positively</a>, and feel it has greatly enriched their lives, and helped them <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-people-downsize-to-tiny-houses-they-adopt-more-environmentally-friendly-lifestyles-112485">re-evaluate their life choices, especially consumerism</a> even after moving to more conventional dwellings.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/so-you-want-to-live-tiny-heres-what-to-consider-when-choosing-a-house-van-or-caravan-129790" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Home & Garden

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Dick van Dyke reveals the secret to feeling young at 98

<p>Dick Van Dyke has opened up about his secret weapon that helps him stay young as he prepares to celebrate his 98th birthday. </p> <p>The Hollywood legend spoke out about defying the ageing process in a recent interview with <em>Yahoo</em>, saying there are four key things that help him maintain his youthful vigour and zest for life. </p> <p>Firstly, he credited his good genes for helping him stay young later in life. </p> <p>Secondly, the actor said that his 51-year-old wife, Arlene Silver, was instrumental in helping him feel young.</p> <p>“Having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me (helps),” the actor gushed over his spouse of 11 years.</p> <p>Van Dyke also added that a “positive attitude” was key to keeping healthy, stating, “I get that from my wife.”</p> <p>Lastly, he said exercise is important for people of any age, but particular those in their senior years, as he said he does whatever he can to keep moving. </p> <p>“I wrote a book called <em>Keep Moving</em>, I still go to the gym three days a week and work out,” he shared.</p> <p>“I advise everybody to do that, because that’s what ages people — it’s just a stiffening up and not exercising their muscles and their lungs,” he added. “Exercise is the answer.”</p> <p>Dick Van Dyke has previously spoken about his wife Arlene, whom he first met at the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Awards when he was 81 and she was 35.</p> <p>The pair initially became friends before their relationship turned romantic.</p> <p>“We share an attitude,” Van Dyke said cooingly of his wife. “She can go with the flow. She loves to sing and dance, which we do almost every day. She’s just delightful.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Relationships

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Soup on Van Gogh and graffiti on Warhol: climate activists follow the long history of museums as a site of protest

<p>Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans at the National Gallery of Australia are just the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/nov/09/climate-activists-target-andy-warhols-campbells-soup-cans-at-australias-national-gallery">latest artistic target</a> of climate protesters, who have been throwing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/14/just-stop-oil-activists-throw-soup-at-van-goghs-sunflowers">soup</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/climate-protesters-throw-mashed-potatoes-at-monet-painting/2022/10/23/cc39e636-52f0-11ed-ac8b-08bbfab1c5a5_story.html">mashed potatoes</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/climate-protesters-throw-mashed-potatoes-at-monet-painting/2022/10/23/cc39e636-52f0-11ed-ac8b-08bbfab1c5a5_story.html">cake</a> at art worth millions of dollars.</p> <p>The actions have received a <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/in-doha-four-museum-directors-talk-the-climate-protests-1234644472/">muted response</a> from some museum directors, but the protesters know exactly what they are doing. </p> <p>As the activists who threw soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers <a href="https://www.frieze.com/article/interview-just-stop-oil">said, "</a>We know that civil resistance works. History has shown us that."</p> <p>Indeed, there is a long history of museums and art being used for political protest.</p> <h2>For women’s suffrage and women artists</h2> <p>In 1914, suffragette Mary Richardson <a href="https://womensarttours.com/slashing-venus-suffragettes-and-vandalism/">slashed</a> the canvas of Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus at London’s National Gallery. </p> <p>Richardson wanted to attract publicity to Emmeline Pankhurst’s imprisonment for her suffragette actions. Richardson selected this painting in part because of its value, and because of “the way men visitors gaped at it all day long”.</p> <p>Her tactics are credited as <a href="https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/just-stop-oil-protests-museums-environmental-activism/">motivating</a> Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.</p> <p>Since 1985, the <a href="https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/25207/1/Camillabrownpaper.pdf">Guerrilla Girls</a> have been exposing sexual and racial discrimination in the art world.</p> <p>Their actions have usually occurred at the outskirts of museums: in museum foyers, on nearby billboards and on New York City buses. Perhaps their most famous work <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/guerrilla-girls-do-women-have-to-be-naked-to-get-into-the-met-museum-p78793">asked</a>: “do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?”</p> <h2>Against corporate sponsorship and artwashing</h2> <p><a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/decolonize-this-place-kanders-whitney-nine-weeks-of-art-and-action-12207/">Decolonize this Place</a> brings together campaigns against racial and economic inequality. </p> <p>They organised a campaign beginning in 2018 targeting the then vice-chair of New York’s Whitney Museum, Warren B. Kander, whose company sold tear gas that had reportedly been used against asylum seekers along the US-Mexico border. </p> <p>The campaign’s first event was held in the museum’s foyer. <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/no-space-profiteer-state-violence-decolonize-place-protests-whitney-vice-chair-warren-b-kanders-11507/">Protesters burned sage</a> to mimic tear gas, which wafted through the lobby until the fire department arrived. </p> <p>The protesters argued Kander’s business interests meant he was not fit to lead a globally significant cultural heritage institution that sought relevance for a wide and diverse public constituency. Kander <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/arts/whitney-warren-kanders-resigns.html">resigned</a> from the museum’s board in 2019.</p> <p>Since 2018, artist <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sackler-nan-goldin-victoria-albert-1704450">Nan Goldin</a> and her “Opioid Activist Group” have been staging “die-ins” at the museum to protest against the galleries named for sponsorship from the Sackler family.</p> <p>The Sackler family business is Purdue Pharma, infamous for OxyContin, a major drug in the US <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/03/1084163626/purdue-sacklers-oxycontin-settlement">opioid crisis</a>. </p> <p>Activists have targeted galleries around the world, and so far the Sackler name has been removed from galleries including the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/18/arts/sackler-family-museums.html">Louvre</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/mar/25/british-museum-removes-sackler-family-name-from-galleries">British Museum</a>, the <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sackler-name-change-guggenheim-museum-2110993">Guggenheim</a> and, as of last month, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/oct/01/campaigners-celebrate-as-va-severs-sackler-links-over-opioids-cash">Victoria and Albert Museum</a>.</p> <h2>For the return of cultural artefacts</h2> <p>The highest-profile actions against the British Museum have targeted its rejection of calls to return objects including the <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/parthenon-marbles-british-museum-protest-1234632365/">Parthenon Marbles</a> of Greece, the <a href="https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/british-museum-closes-gallery-in-response-to-protesters">Benin Bronzes</a> from modern-day Nigeria, and the <a href="https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/british-museum-closes-gallery-in-response-to-protesters">Gweagal shield</a> from Australia. </p> <p>In 2018, a group of activists performed a “<a href="https://camd.org.au/stolen-goods-tour-of-bm-protest/">Stolen Goods Tour</a>” of the museum. Participants from across the world gave a different story to what visitors read in the museum’s object labels and catalogues, as the activist tour guides explained their continuing connections with objects in the collection.</p> <p>The tour did not convince the museum to return cultural items, but drew extensive global attention to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/11/nigeria-benin-repatriate-bronzes-smithsonian">ongoing campaigns</a>seeking restitution and repatriation.</p> <h2>In the culture wars</h2> <p>Protests using art and museums aren’t just the domain of the left.</p> <p>In 1969, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Museums-and-Social-Activism-Engaged-Protest/Message/p/book/9780415658539">an arsonist destroyed</a> a display at the National Museum of American History that commemorated Martin Luther King Jr, who had been recently assassinated. The perpetrator was never identified.</p> <p>In 2017, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/18/noose-found-hanging-washington-museum">nooses</a> were left at various museums of the Smithsonian, including The National Museum of African American History and Culture. No groups ever came forward to claim responsibility or express a motive, but the noose is a potent and divisive symbol of segregation and racially motivated violence.</p> <p>In December 2021, doors to the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-30/act-protesters-set-old-parliament-house-on-fire/100731444">set alight</a> twice by protesters with a number of grievances, including opposition to COVID-19 vaccines.</p> <p>The museum’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-20/multimillion-dollar-repair-bill-for-old-parliament-house-fire/100770268">director said</a> the “assault on the building” would force the museum to rethink its commitment to being “as open as possible, representing all that is good about Australian democracy”, and at the same time keeping it protected.</p> <h2>‘Direct action works’</h2> <p>The past two decades have seen a surge of art-focused demonstrations. </p> <p>In 2019, Decolonize this Place and Goldin’s anti-Sackler coalition met with members of 30 other groups in front of Andy Warhol’s “The Last Supper” (1986) at the Whitney. </p> <p>They were there to celebrate the Tate Museum in London and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, who had announced they would stop taking funding from the Sackler family. One participant cried “<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/491418/decolonize-this-place-nine-weeks-launch/">direct action works!</a>” </p> <p>Even when protests at museums and art achieve less concrete outcomes than this, they remain central tools for building public awareness around political and social issues. </p> <p>It is unlikely actions against museums and art will subside anytime soon.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/soup-on-van-gogh-and-graffiti-on-warhol-climate-activists-follow-the-long-history-of-museums-as-a-site-of-protest-193009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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Three arguments why Just Stop Oil was right to target Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

<p>Waves of controversy were sparked recently when the Just Stop Oil activists <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/oil-protest-van-gogh-sunflower-soup-intl-scli-gbr/index.html">threw tomato soup</a> over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London. Although the painting was behind glass <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/14/just-stop-oil-activists-throw-soup-at-van-goghs-sunflowers">so not damaged</a>, politicians were quick to condemn their “<a href="https://twitter.com/JamesCleverly/status/1581327788388163584?s=20&amp;t=ACNnBMBQN9UNL-cxoRhrVg">attention-seeking</a>” vandalism while media commentators proclaimed that the act had “<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewMarr9/status/1580879221656006656?s=20&amp;t=ACNnBMBQN9UNL-cxoRhrVg">lost them</a>” to the cause. </p> <p>It is perhaps with some poetic timing that I’ve just started a project that is an oral history of the <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/geography/oral-history-of-the-environmental-movement-project/">environmental movements in the UK</a>. The aim is to contribute to a greater understanding and wider public awareness of the variety of modes of engagement with environmental issues.</p> <p>This tactic was certainly a provocative act and Van Gogh’s work is undoubtedly some of the most important artwork of modern times. However, many of these commentaries on Just Stop Oil’s actions simply just don’t hold up. </p> <p>The main critiques of the activist stunt are that it <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/14/just-stop-oils-van-gogh-soup-stunt-sparks-criticism-alienating-strategy">alienates people</a> who are sympathetic to the climate cause by attacking a much-loved and important piece of art. That it smacks of <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-too-middle-class-heres-how-to-fix-that-123231">middle-class activism</a> and is overly performative. And, finally, that it has required “<a href="https://currentlyhq.com/personal/we-need-more-climate-protests-just-not-performative-ones/">explanation</a>”, which if you have to do, you’re losing.</p> <p>While there is some truth to these critiques, I don’t buy them.</p> <p>Rather than wade further into the quagmire of social media debate, here is a breakdown of the three arguments and explanations of why I think that this kind of provocative activism deserves our unwavering support.</p> <h2>1. Art is an extension of corporate power</h2> <p>First off, museums and art galleries have long been used by fossil fuel companies for the purposes of <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745335889/artwash/">artwashing</a> – the ethically acceptable process of funding art and culture to smooth over their very unethical corporate practices. Some of the more conscientious institutions (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/19/shells-ends-national-gallery-sponsorship-to-delight-of-campaigners">including</a> <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c3ab1b10-ee06-4fac-abe9-1a1e4dcef39f">The National Gallery</a>) have <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bp-ends-tate-sponsorship-2017-447041#:%7E:text=Tate%20was%20forced%20to%20disclose,year%20between%201990%20and%202006.">cut ties</a>with any sponsorship from oil companies, but others have <a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/revealed-science-museum-signed-gagging-clause-with-exhibition-sponsor-shell">doubled down</a> on it.</p> <p>Art itself, through the <a href="https://qz.com/513625/the-new-reserve-currency-for-the-worlds-rich-is-not-actually-currency/">networks of global trading</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-02/how-do-the-rich-avoid-taxes-billionaires-use-this-art-strategy?leadSource=uverify%20wall">tax avoidance</a> and the creation of <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9783956796227/">freeports</a> (huge walled complexes where art is stored away from prying eyes and tax collectors), has become <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745338248/art-after-money-money-after-art/">totally intertwined</a> with global corporate and fossil fuel capitalism. Corporations plough money into art institutions and art pieces themselves because it buys them validity in the eyes of the public. Art becomes a shield for their more nefarious planet-destroying practices.</p> <p>But the art should never be considered above, or separate from, the capitalist content behind it. Millions of treasured pieces of art are now under the purview of corporate power and have <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/147192/modern-art-serves-rich">become windows</a> – beautiful windows no doubt, but still windows – into the shady practices of global capital and <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JMLC-01-2021-0002/full/html?casa_token=HAd9Kr6jD2kAAAAA:37GtlbaQIbxeoQOtXExK2-OKjvog5kYNaEv94Jwy_MF1ssCHNztVGBofMoPYjqp-NMkKE5PYOPklW_nmDBelpT8QQpgo6cEAmp_vF_Ydv6DNIL8h1Q">international tax avoidance</a>. As hard as it is to stomach sometimes, art pieces, in this way, become extensions of corporate power and hence are legitimate targets of climate activism.</p> <h2>2. Fighting class oppression and climate change is the same</h2> <p>The second critique, often coming from the left, accuses climate activism of being inherently middle-class. Groups, they argue, are populated by white people and the “mess” they create (be that with soup on paintings or <a href="https://twitter.com/Taj_Ali1/status/1581332937475207169?s=20&amp;t=4ELyikRjs5qmUWZuNYYl6g">milk on supermarket floors</a>) is often cleared up by working-class cleaning staff. </p> <p>There is truth in these arguments, which are often missing from the justification of these activist practices. However, taking a more holistic approach, social and economic justice is a fundamental pillar of climate justice – you cannot have <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/cop26-tackling-climate-breakdown-and-delivering-economic-justice-must-go-hand-in-hand/">one without the other</a>. The Just Stop Oil activists who defaced the Van Gogh recognised these arguments in part when <a href="https://twitter.com/JustStop_Oil/status/1580883249228046336?s=20&amp;t=x0HvtkQci8bXDeUjY0EFQw">they said</a> that many people “can’t afford to even buy and heat soup because of the energy crisis”.</p> <p>“Solving” the climate crisis demands total system change. As <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-strikes-greta-thunberg-calls-for-system-change-not-climate-change-heres-what-that-could-look-like-112891">Greta Thunberg</a> and other prominent voices have constantly said. Capitalism will not solve the problem, it only makes it worse. Capitalism has the oppression of the working class as its core engine. So, fighting against the changing climate means also fighting capitalism’s class (and indeed, racial, gendered and ableist) imbalance. The two are, and need to continue to be, one.</p> <h2>3. Direct action is important</h2> <p>Finally, some people have wheeled out the phrase “if you’re explaining yourself, you’re losing”. Again, there is a kernel of truth to that, but the severity of the climate catastrophe needs no further explanation. </p> <p>Explaining is not the point of direct action. If you need to be “won over” by the argument, then you’re clearly not doing enough. </p> <p>Just Stop Oil’s action with soup on Sunflowers was to symbolise that we’re attacking something we love. The level of ire at those symbolically ruining – remember, it was behind glass so has not be destroyed – a precious art piece should be given a million-fold to those who are actually ruining our precious planet.</p> <p>Direct climate action will only increase as the situation worsens and our governments continue to actively make things worse with new mines, fracking and new <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/07/uk-offers-new-north-sea-oil-and-gas-licences-despite-climate-concerns">oil drilling contracts</a>. <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3665-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline">Destroying pipelines</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/laver-cup-climate-change-activist-sets-his-arm-on-fire-on-court-2022-9">demanding an end to private jets</a> and other direct action against fossil fuel burning infrastructures are important acts in this regard. They highlight how art is also part of that infrastructure and is therefore equally vital.</p> <p>The current crop of climate activists –- Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain etc – will forge their own path because that is what activists need to do to make their points heard. But for all the reasons outlined above, understanding the history (and their successes and failures) will be important to help build a coherent, united and effective climate movement. </p> <p>That cohesive movement will need art yes, but not as a conduit for the very capitalist vehicles that are destroying our beautiful planet. As Van Gogh himself said, "…it is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-arguments-why-just-stop-oil-was-right-to-target-van-goghs-sunflowers-192661" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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Climate activists attack Van Gogh’s Sunflowers with soup

<p dir="ltr">Two people have attempted to destroy an iconic Van Gogh artwork in London’s National Gallery in the name of climate activism. </p> <p dir="ltr">The two perpetrators, who are members of the organisation Just Stop Oil, threw cans of tomato soup at Van Gogh’s <em>Sunflowers </em>(1888), the museum confirmed in a statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">Luckily, the painting was saved by the glass covering, with the frame only suffering minor damage. </p> <p dir="ltr">Immediately after throwing the soup, the activists glued themselves to the wall under the painting in an act that was filmed and shared on Twitter by the Guardian‘s environmental correspondent Damien Gayle.</p> <p dir="ltr">“What is worth more, art or life?” declared one protester. “Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">“What is worth more, art or life? … are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”<a href="https://twitter.com/JustStop_Oil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JustStop_Oil</a>’s activists explain their action <a href="https://t.co/mGNZIO6RbK">pic.twitter.com/mGNZIO6RbK</a></p> <p>— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) <a href="https://twitter.com/damiengayle/status/1580865060347383808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of the oil crisis,” they continued. “Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After the incident, gallery staff cleared visitors from the room and called police to the scene. </p> <p dir="ltr">The two activists were then arrested.</p> <p dir="ltr">The attack on Van Gogh’s <em>Sunflowers </em>is the recent statement made by climate activists, who have drawn in a flood of attention by targeting artworks around the world. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait uncovered

<p>A previously unseen self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered behind another one of the artist's iconic paintings. </p> <p>The self-portrait was found behind Van Gogh's <em>Head of a Peasant Woman</em> when experts at Edinburgh's National Galleries of Scotland x-rayed the canvas before it was put on public display. </p> <p>The artwork is believed to have remained a secret for over a century, as it was covered with layers of cardboard and glue before it was frames in the early 20th century. </p> <p>The Dutch artist was known for painting on both sides of a canvas to save money. </p> <p>The portrait shows a bearded sitter in a brimmed hat, with experts saying the subject was instantly recognisable as the artist himself, and is thought to be from his early work.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/Van-Gogh-x-ray.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>Van Gogh's left ear is clearly visible in the painting, leading experts to believe it was created before 1888 when he cut his ear off. </p> <p>Frances Fowle, a senior curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said the discovery was "thrilling".</p> <p>"Moments like this are incredibly rare," she said.</p> <p>"We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world."</p> <p>The gallery said they are evaluating how to remove the layers of cardboard and glue without damaging the original <em>Head of a Peasant Woman </em>artwork.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H6KR2HTPIXI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p><em>Image credits: National Galleries of Scotland</em></p>

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LEGO recreates Van Gogh’s iconic Starry Night

<p dir="ltr">Art enthusiasts are now one step closer to owning a genuine Vincent Van Gogh artwork (which generally go for over $20 million at auction), with the next best thing soon to be available. </p> <p dir="ltr">Teaming up with New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), LEGO is set to release an official The Starry Night set, which lets customers replicate the Dutch artist’s famous 1889 artwork.  </p> <p dir="ltr">The artistic concept was initially pitched by Hong Kong-based PhD candidate Truman Cheng on the LEGO Ideas platform, which garnered considerable online attention. </p> <p dir="ltr">One year later, it's hitting the shelves. </p> <p dir="ltr">“What makes The Starry Night so irresistible is the expressive brushwork and vibrant colours used throughout, which tell the story of humanity’s everlasting dream for better things,” explains Federico Begher, Head of Global Marketing at LEGO. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CdqQkqhMdWl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CdqQkqhMdWl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by LEGO (@lego)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Truman’s design was a masterpiece in itself – showing how many different LEGO elements and techniques could be used to replicate van Gogh’s iconic painting.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was a good brain tease to come up with tricks and techniques to capture the look of the original painting,” adds Truman Cheng. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The brushwork goes into many directions in the moon and the swirling cloud, so there was some creative use of bracket and clip elements involved.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Starry Night was originally painted by Van Gogh in 1889, and was inspired by the view from Vincent van Gogh’s window at the Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole Asylum in Saint-Rémy, France.</p> <p dir="ltr">The LEGO Starry Night set will be exclusively available to purchase for both LEGO VIP and MoMA members starting from May 25th, while the global release is scheduled a little later on June 1st. The price? $260.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: LEGO</em><span id="docs-internal-guid-91017a6a-7fff-b6f2-3dc2-fb7393ae3f19"></span></p>

Art

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‘Queer Eye’ star's haircare range now available

<p dir="ltr">Jonathan Van Ness, Queer Eye’s expert on haircare and personal grooming, has taken his hugely successful clean haircare brand to Australia and New Zealand.</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Ness launched JVN Hair in mid-2021 in US Sephora stores, partnering with biotechnology company Amyris to create the range of 11 haircare products that aren’t gendered and can be mixed and matched.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Netflix star, who has worked as a hairstylist for 15 years, told <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/face-body/queer-eye-star-jonathan-van-ness-launches-jvn-hair-in-australia/news-story/876b46da5732bc09bcc7a5368c3cd406" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a></em> that he used his experience to create a product for “everyone” that targets common hair concerns over types of hair.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve got a huge passion for education and understanding product, it’s really important to achieving hairstyle - especially achieving and maintaining healthy hair,” Van Ness explained.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1bb19a45-7fff-514e-fe82-80507f2ad7ff"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“So whether you’re someone who has really fine hair or you’re someone who has thick, coarse, kinky coily hair, all of our products are going to work for you.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZsLaZfOd78/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZsLaZfOd78/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Van Ness said the range, which cost between $28 (NZ 32) and $43 (NZ 49), features a “hero” ingredient called Hemisqualane, an alternative to silicone that’s synthesised from sugar cane that he says is superior for helping protect and repair hair.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Silicones coat the hair and prevent any of the benefits of other ingredients from being absorbed into the hair, whereas Hemisqualane penetrates the hair’s core better to repair, protect and smooth your hair immediately and over time,” Van Ness said in an interview with <a href="https://www.sephora.nz/beautyfeed/article/jvn-launch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sephora</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s an amazing, clean, sustainable ingredient that works wonders on hair,” he told news.com.au.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s also silicone free and sulphate free which is also good for the environment as well as your hair, so we just love Hemisqualane.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Ness also stressed that the products were “non gendered” and that the messaging - including the tagline “come as you are” - were designed to be inclusive.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For so long the beauty industry has been very exclusive in who it caters to,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s always been trying to make certain people feel more welcome.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was assigned male at birth and I always felt like I wasn’t supposed to want to play with my hair and I wasn’t supposed to want to feel beautiful. So I always felt unwelcome in the beauty space.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So I just want everyone to know, no matter who you are, your gender, your age, your race, you’re allowed to play with your hair and feel beautiful while doing it.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The range of JVN Hair are available to purchase <a href="https://jvnhair.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online</a> or in Sephora stores in <a href="https://www.sephora.com.au/brands/jvn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.sephora.nz/brands/jvn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Zealand</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-eaa6d0b0-7fff-74b7-b403-e4858d55a996"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @jvnhair (Instagram)</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Peter van Onselen reveals past abuse in debate with Grace Tame

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article mentions paedophilia, child sexual abuse and rape.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Grace Tame has called out Peter van Onselen, after the pair engaged in a heated conversation on Twitter that saw him disclose that he was also a victim of child sexual abuse.</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Onselen previously wrote in <em>The Australian </em>that he was “lucky” to not be abused by a notorious paedophile he had gained the attention of, and has now said that wasn’t the case.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-efd29e63-7fff-4e4d-1ca1-6027eb4c3f72"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The conversation was sparked by van Onselen commenting on a separate tweet by Dr Gemma Carey, suggesting that her family being banned from the GP clinic they had been seeing for a long time was “a sign that you’re a complete pain in the arse”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">That’s how I felt when as a survivor myself of child sexual abuse (he was convicted) she accused me of being a threat to my wife. Unfortunately you then helped her raise money when I had the temerity to ask her to apologise. Thanks for all your support.</p> <p>— Peter van Onselen 🎣 (@vanOnselenP) <a href="https://twitter.com/vanOnselenP/status/1509487096087838722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Grace Tame retweeted a screenshot of his comment with the caption, “When you victimise a vulnerable person, that’s a pretty good sign too.”</p> <p dir="ltr">This prompted van Onselen to say he was a victim of child sexual abuse from a person who was convicted at the time that he shared his story to police.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tame replied noting that the person who he said abused him hadn’t been convicted of crimes against him, writing that “co-opting other survivors’ experiences is a whole new low, mate”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Onselen also said Tame forced him to make the disclosure after she accused him of co-opting the stories of other victims of the same person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You have made me say this which is incredibly distressing but there you go,” he wrote. “The police knew of three other boys he raped who didn’t want to testify. I was one of them.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c9360548-7fff-98c4-be3f-6ea3a0913765"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I was going off your own words, Peter. You are responsible for when and what you publicly disclose, not me. I ask again that you leave me alone now,” Tame replied, attaching a screenshot from his article in <em>The Australian</em>.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">That’s how I felt when as a survivor myself of child sexual abuse (he was convicted) she accused me of being a threat to my wife. Unfortunately you then helped her raise money when I had the temerity to ask her to apologise. Thanks for all your support.</p> <p>— Peter van Onselen 🎣 (@vanOnselenP) <a href="https://twitter.com/vanOnselenP/status/1509487096087838722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Like lots of survivors I have sought to not go public about what happened to me. I spoke to the police about exactly that as my abuser was being sentenced. Please stop shaming me for not having your courage to choose to go public.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have not shamed you, not once,” Tame replied. “You’re manipulating this entire situation. I have pointed out exactly what I have known to be true.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Tame returned to Twitter on Friday morning to explain the situation.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I stood up for a friend whom Peter demeaned unsolicitedly,” she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He then used ‘convicted’ paedophilia survivorship as a defence, in a tweet he copied and pasted several times - to me a paedophilia survivor. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Prior, he publicly aserted me he was “not sexually abused”, so I called him out.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6b4eeb3f-7fff-b3a1-9376-35d9f05c57ec"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Earlier the same day, she asserted that every survivor “deserves to be heard and respected”, but that trauma shouldn’t “excuse bad behaviour”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Every survivor of rape and abuse deserves to be heard and receive compassion. Every single one.</p> <p>Trauma, however, doesn’t excuse bad behaviour. It is not a weapon of provocation or oneupmanship to deploy in the face of others at your convenience, especially not fellow survivors.</p> <p>— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1509669097759723523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“It is not a weapon of provocation or one-up-manship to deploy in the face of others at your convenience, especially not fellow survivors.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Onselen originally wrote that he had been groomed by a paedophile but had not been abused in his <em>The Australian</em> piece.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To be very clear from the outset, I was not sexually abused, I am one of the lucky ones” he wrote at the time. </p> <p dir="ltr">“But only just. A teacher … tried to sexually assault me on a school trip. He was convicted for doing so to three other boys on that same trip.”</p> <p dir="ltr">But, he also wrote that he may have “dissociated” during the abuse and may “have blocked more that happened”.</p> <p dir="ltr">In his latest online spat, the Project co-host also referred to a previous altercation with Dr Carey, when he had threatened to sue her over a tweet suggesting he was a danger to his wife in an old photo with Christian Porter.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb3532b8-7fff-cbec-0089-5e80c870db32"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Roy Vandervegt (Adelaide Festival) / Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Mystery van visitor unmasked

<p>The "fan" who was permitted entry to the van carrying Shane Warne’s body from Koh Samui to the Thai mainland after his shock death has been identified as German national Barbara Woinke – a former entertainment and travel writer.</p> <p>She was at the centre of an investigation over a <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/finance/legal/anger-after-fan-enters-van-carrying-shane-warnes-body">potential security breach</a> involving Warne's body. all of which was captured by an ABC film crew.</p> <p>Prior to Warne's autopsy being conducted, Woinke was able to enter an ambulance carrying Warne’s body and spend more than 30 seconds alone in the vehicle.</p> <p>Thai authorities were told the woman knew Warne personally, prompting them to provide her access to pay her respects</p> <p>The Australian reports she has worked for daily newspapers and magazines such as Instyle, Glamour and Bunte.</p> <p>Before moving to Koh Samui in Thailand, she lived in Berlin, Paris and New York, according to one online German book retailer selling her travel guide to Lake Garda in Northern Italy.</p> <p>“(Ms Woinke) always has her passport and driving license in her handbag just in case,” the bio reads.</p> <p>A video posted on YouTube in September last year shows Ms Woinke in Koh Samui promoting a tourism networking group called Skal International.</p> <p>"Hello, I’m Barbara Woinke. I’m originally from Munich in Germany and here on Koh Samui in Thailand I am part of the membership committee of Skal Koh Samui,” she said.</p> <p>Video footage showed Woinke carrying a small bunch of flowers and approaching the ambulance which was transporting Warne’s body from Koh Samui where he died, via ferry to the mainland.</p> <p>Woinke told the ABC she simply wanted to pay her respects and did not mean any harm. “I am a big fan of him. It’s very sad that we lost him. I just took the flowers to pay condolences,” she said.</p> <p>“I am sorry about yesterday but I [did] not mean [any] negative act by that. I am a big fan, he is a great player.”</p> <p>She was accompanied by a Thai woman who spoke to authorities near the ramp entrance to the ferry, reported by ABC to be immigration officials.</p> <p>The woman says in English, “yeah, yeah she knows him”, followed in Thai by, “thank you very much, she’s a friend”.</p> <p>They were both then escorted through parked cars to the ambulance where the German woman approaches the driver-side window, holding up the flowers to show the driver.</p> <p>The driver then gets out and walks around the sliding side door of the ambulance, opening the door for the woman, who enters, and closes it behind her.</p> <p>There are concerns about the length of time the woman spent unaccompanied with Warne’s body, although Thai police say the woman did not do anything illegal.</p> <p>Image: ABC News / YouTube</p>

News

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Anger after "fan" enters van carrying Shane Warne's body

<p>Thailand police have revealed they will not be charging a mysterious woman who was spotted entered an ambulance carrying the body of Shane Warne, because she did not break the law.</p> <p>There has been widespread outrage after it was discovered that the mystery blonde woman was allowed into the white van as it transported the body of the late cricket great on a ferry from Koh Samui to the Thai mainland on Sunday.</p> <p>Local police in Thailand launched an investigation into why the woman was allowed to spend time with Shane Warne's body ahead of his autopsy, and brought her in for questioning. </p> <p>At a press conference on Monday, they said they have dropped the investigation as they believed she had not broken any rules. </p> <p>The woman, a German ex-pat who lives in Koh Samui, was seen carrying flowers near the van as it sat on the ferry, before speaking with a local immigration officer. </p> <p>The woman then approached the driver's side of the van and spoke to the driver, who left the vehicle, allowing her to get in and then shut the doors behind her.</p> <p>It’s understood she spent more than 30 seconds inside the vehicle.</p> <p>The woman later told <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-07/shane-warne-body-incident-thailand/100887050" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC</a> that she just wanted to pay her respects to the cricketer and didn't mean to cause any offence. </p> <p>“I am a big fan of him. It’s very sad that we lost him,” she said.</p> <p>“I just took the flowers to pay condolences."</p> <p>“I am sorry about yesterday but I [did] not mean [any] negative act by that. I am a big fan, he is a great player.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: ABC News footage</em></p>

Legal

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"I'm so angry": Man fumes after threatened with fine for sleeping in his van

<p dir="ltr">A Queensland man has taken to social media to share his fury at the local council after he was issued a move-on directive while sleeping in his van.</p><p dir="ltr">Mark Pemberton shared his story on the Facebook page Van Life Australia, recounting how council workers shone a torch into the window of his van which was parked on a suburban street.</p><p dir="ltr">“I’m so angry,” he wrote.</p><p dir="ltr">“Last night (Tuesday) I parked in a very quiet spot at around 8pm. (Gold Coast) 10.50pm, council came around and knock (sic) on the door.</p><p dir="ltr">“They were very nice, but told me it was a $680 fine for sleeping in the street in a van and I had to move.”</p><p dir="ltr">He then questioned why he had been approached while countless other people who were sleeping rough in Surfers Paradise were left alone by Gold Coast Council workers.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f1a56598-7fff-40d2-045f-87002713a08f"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“Now the thing is, I live in a unit in Surfers Paradise. I was in the van for various reasons,” he continued.</p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/53992333-10492397-His_Facebook_post_on_the_page_Van_Life_generated_plenty_of_discu-m-1_1644461096527.jpg" alt="" width="634" height="476" /></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Daily Mail Australia</em></p><p dir="ltr">“I see the homeless drunk, swearing, begging and sleeping in the street on a daily basis in the middle of Surfers.</p><p dir="ltr">“I also see a guy who I won’t name, but is semi-famous and walks around in a bikini, sleeps in the street cuddling a teddy.”</p><p dir="ltr">Mr Pemberton questioned why the council thought it was acceptable to let that individual walk around in public in front of kids, when he wasn’t allowed to sleep “down a dark street in a registered vehicle”.</p><p dir="ltr">“This is ridiculous. This is not about an individual, this is about the stupidity of the Council,” he concluded.</p><p dir="ltr">Though his post generated plenty of discussion, it has since been deleted by page administrators.</p><p dir="ltr">The former business executive who once earned a $200,000 salary is now unemployed, with the pandemic and other personal circumstances seeing him “lose everything”.</p><p dir="ltr">“My van is registered and roadworthy and was also legally parked on a street in Paradise Point,” he told <em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10492397/How-fined-sleeping-car-Australia.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail Australia</a></em>.</p><p dir="ltr">He recalled being almost asleep when two council workers shone a torch into his van.<br />“I explained my situation and I will say they were sympathetic, but I was told I had to move on elsewhere,” he told the publication.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-db484a14-7fff-7861-ba0b-4bff38319252"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“I understand they are doing their job, but surely the council could focus on other issues at hand?”</p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/217397376_1146034059251748_5444362758567874310_n.jpg" alt="" width="652" height="960" /></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Mark Pemberton was inspired to take up living the van life after his travels through Europe. Image: Herc the Merc (Facebook)</em></p><p dir="ltr">Mr Pemberton said the council should focus on addressing issues such as “homelessness and mental health”, rather than “people minding their own business in a registered van”.</p><p dir="ltr">Having lived out of a van during his previous travels through Europe, Mr Pemberton is convinced it is the lifestyle for him.</p><p dir="ltr">“After my personal dramas, van life was great for mental health,” he said.</p><p dir="ltr">“I understand it isn’t for everyone, but in my eyes it is a great opportunity to see the world differently.”</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d2975602-7fff-9d1a-883f-ac905eb8c719"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Mark J Pemberton (Facebook)</em></p>

Legal

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Smile for the camera!: Man caught trashing Bunnings van

<p dir="ltr">A vandal has been caught red-handed interfering with the windscreen wiper of a parked Bunnings vehicle over the weekend.</p> <p dir="ltr">The act was caught on the car’s dashboard camera on Sunday, and shared to the Facebook page Dash Cam Owners Australia on Tuesday. The video shows a man approach the car from the passenger side before starting to tamper with the wiper, bending it back onto itself and then twisting it around. The man was dressed in a brown New York Yankees cap, grey shirt, blue board shorts and thongs. He then left the scene, walking in the opposite direction.</p> <p dir="ltr">The incident took place while the car was parked on Victoria Avenue in the Sydney suburb of Concord West. The video garnered over 70,000 views in less than four hours, as well as hundreds of comments.</p> <p dir="ltr">Many commenters were happy the culprit was caught, with one person writing, “Smile for the camera you angry little man! I hope he’s been identified,” while another wondered what prompted the attack, asking, “Makes you wonder why people actually do this. Crazy. I wonder if he is known to the dashcam owner? Seems like it’s revenge for something possibly?”</p> <p dir="ltr">Others wondered whether it was part of a vendetta against the hardware store, with someone suggesting, “Vandalism to a Bunnings van? Probably worked for Mitre10,” while another wondered if the man wasn’t just hungry, writing, “Hangry for a Bunnings snag! Maybe they should do a snag van like Mr Whippy.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another commenter pointed out that the attack wasn’t particularly effective, writing, “If you’re gonna be a vandal, at least be an intelligent one and do that to the driver’s side wiper. All he achieved there is made it ever so slightly more difficult to see out the extreme left of the windscreen, and some minor inconvenience by needing to replace it.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Dash Cam Owners Australia</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Never-before-seen Van Gogh drawing goes on display

<p>A newly discovered Vincent Van Gogh drawing has made its debut in in Amsterdam.</p> <p>The Van Gogh Museum revealed that the never-before-seen piece was drawn in 1882, marking the early days of the famous artist's extraordinary career.</p> <p>The artwork had been sitting in a Dutch family's private collection for over 100 years, and was loaned to the Amsterdam Museum for viewing for the first time.</p> <p>The unique piece will be visible to the public until January 2nd 2022, before returning to the private collection.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">🎉We have discovered a new work by Vincent van Gogh! Study for ‘Worn Out’ from 1882 is added to Van Gogh's oeuvre. What do you think of this study? On display in the museum from tomorrow on. Find out more: <a href="https://t.co/LyjgpLkRtv">https://t.co/LyjgpLkRtv</a> <a href="https://t.co/86fu9XRbeY">pic.twitter.com/86fu9XRbeY</a></p> — Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) <a href="https://twitter.com/vangoghmuseum/status/1438498921169391623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>The drawing depicts an exhausted old man and has been titled <em>Study for Worn Out</em>.</p> <p>Signed <em>“</em><em>Vincent”</em>, the drawing shows an elderly labourer dressed in boots, trousers and a waistcoat bending over with his head in his hands.</p> <p>Teio Meedendorp, a senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, told the BBC that it was "absolutely impossible" to predict how much the piece was worth.</p> <p>The artwork seems to be an earlier version of a more well-known Van Gogh piece titled <em>Worn Out</em>, which has been on display at the museum for many years.</p> <p>This first draft of an artwork gives researchers an exclusive insight into Van Gogh's working process as an early artist.</p> <p>As expected, the team at The Van Gogh Museum, were “delighted with this discovery” and felt like they had contributed to their specialty.</p> <p>The owner of the artwork, who wishes to remain anonymous, was conversing with the museum about the likelihood of the piece being attributed to Vincent Van Gogh.</p> <p>Teio Meedendorp stated, "In stylistic terms, it fits perfectly with the many figures we know from Van Goghs time in the Hague and the connect with <em>Worn Out</em> is obvious”.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty Images</em></p>

Art