A woman has pleaded guilty to criminal damage and fined $2637 over an attack on an Australian masterpiece at the Art Gallery of WA.

February 10, 2023

A woman behind an attack on one of Australia’s most famous paintings in a protest against a gas company’s alleged destruction of Western Australia rock art has faced court.

Joana Veronika Partyka, 37, pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal damage after she spray-painted a Woodside Energy logo onto Frederick McCubbin’s work Down On His Luck at the Art Gallery of WA.

In a video released by activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub of the incident in January, Partyka also appears to glue her hand to the wall beside the colonial masterpiece as a man lays an Aboriginal flag on the floor of the gallery.

She was convicted in the Perth Magistrates Court and fined $2637. Partyka was ordered to pay $4821.08 in compensation to the art gallery.

Outside the court, Partyka said she stood by her actions and did not rule out making another similar protest.

“I have always taken full responsibility for my actions, which is more than I can say for Woodside,” she told reporters.

She also said she had the support of her employer, Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John, over the protest.

“He has publicly backed me. The Greens publicly backed me. Our roots as a party are in protest so absolutely feel very supported by him,” she said.

Partyka said Disrupt Burrup Hub had started crowd-funding to pay the fine and compensation.

“Hopefully as a result of this people are more aware of what is happening at Murujuga to the rock art,” she said.

The gallery previously reported McCubbin’s work was protected by a clear plastic sheet and not damaged by the yellow spray paint.

Disrupt Burrup Hub has called for industrial development on the rock art-rich Burrup Peninsula, about 30km west of Karratha in the Pilbara region, to be stopped, including Woodside Energy’s expansion of the Pluto gas plant.

The Burrup Peninsula, known as Murujuga to traditional owners, contains the largest and oldest collection of petroglyphs in the world.

It is also home to the Murujuga National Park, the town of Dampier, Dampier Salt, a Rio Tinto Iron Ore export facility and a fertiliser plant.

The Albanese government on Friday announced it had formally nominated the Murujuga Cultural Landscape for inscription on UNESCO’s world heritage list.

Woodside has previously said it respects people’s rights to protest peacefully and lawfully.