The large 96-square-metre canvas depicts a blood-red trail that appears to pour directly from the pipes of the Skiff gas extraction platform, located 45 nautical miles off the coast of Norfolk, England, and belonging to fossil fuel giant Shell. The original artwork is the first to be installed on an active facility. It is titled Butchered, and refers to the state of our planet, devastated by the effects of climate change caused by global warming. The project was born from a collaboration between British artist Anish Kapoor and environmental organisation Greenpeace, in open protest against the continued extraction, use and abuse of sources such as gas, coal and oil, which are responsible for ongoing global warming.

Fossil fuel giant Shell has no intention of stopping

According to a recent study published in Nature, this single company has been responsible for $1.42 trillion in damages worldwide over the past thirty years. Despite this, Shell now intends to expand its operations, with a further 700 new projects currently in the pipeline that will release 10.8 billion tonnes of CO2 — enough to exhaust 5 per cent of the world's remaining carbon budget.

A work of art to remind us who is responsible for the climate crisis

The collaboration between Greenpeace and Kapoor is intended as a powerful signal to reverse course. Kapoor has stated that he wants his work to dispel the collective amnesia surrounding the true causes of climate collapse. "There seems to be, above all, a collective will not to look at who the real culprits of global warming are," he said. Meanwhile, Philip Evans of Greenpeace UK noted that "While the fossil fuel industry makes billions from destroying the climate, people are being forced to bear the cost of the damage caused by floods, droughts and wildfires."

"The carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels is invisible, but the devastation it wreaks on our world is there for all to see."

Anish Kapoor, British artist

The artwork appeared on 13 August. Seven expert climbers from the environmental organisation scaled the platform and, following the British artist's design, positioned the enormous canvas and created the work on the spot, using a high-pressure hose that pumped 1,000 litres of blood-red liquid — composed of seawater, beetroot powder and food-grade pond dye — non-toxic and biodegradable.