UK artist defends ‘Drawings Against Genocide’ show after cancellation

Norfolk, United Kingdom – Matthew Collings, an English creator successful his 70s, sketches connected the papers successful beforehand of him astatine his location successful the scenic coastal region of Norfolk.

Over the past six years, since moving distant from the creation commentary and disapproval that helium focused connected for decades, helium has made much than 3,000 drawings.

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Since October 2023, a bully 3rd of them person focused connected Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

Many were to beryllium displayed successful a May iteration of his show, Drawings Against Genocide, astatine a London assemblage this month. However, the amusement was abruptly cancelled pursuing an involution by a radical called the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which claimed the images were anti-Semitic.

The exhibit, which debuted nether its existent rubric successful Margate earlier this twelvemonth astatine Joseph Wales Studios, is comprised of 130 drawings that picture unit against Palestinians, with assorted blood-bathed military, political, and concern leaders.

“It’s precise wide successful the rubric what they’re against, they’re not against Jews,” Collings said of his artworks successful an interrogation with Al Jazeera.

“They’re against genocide. The genocide isn’t committed by Jews. It’s committed by Zionists. It’s committed by Israel, which is simply a authorities that would not beryllium were it not for Zionism,” helium added, referring to the nationalist, governmental ideology that called for the instauration of a Jewish state. “Nothing successful my drawings for genocide is remotely anti-Semitic.”

The allegations of anti-Semitism person focused connected the portrayals of Jewish radical successful the drawings and allegations that assorted images picture humor libel, kid sacrifice, and different hateful tropes.

But Collings said determination are nary images of specified tropes successful the show.

“Of 130 drawings, 30 person recognisable nationalist figures who are Jewish, and fractional of those radical are heroes successful my eyes,” Collings said.

These see images of Moses teaching the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”, and a beverage enactment of Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx, and the American governmental idiosyncratic and activistic Norman Finkelstein.

“And the fractional that I criticise, I don’t criticise for being Jewish, I criticise them for supporting genocide,’ Collings explained to Al Jazeera.

One drafting depicts the American comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who regularly expresses enactment for Israel’s service amid the genocide.

“It depicts demons and monsters, but they are creator metaphors for Zionism, brutality, and violence. They’re not Jews covered successful scaly tegument oregon demon eyes. They are an abstract concept, which is what creation has ever done.”

At the Margate show, a pro-Israel activistic and writer “staged an outrage stunt”, appearing astatine the assemblage and accusing Collings of being anti-Semitic, the creator said. Shortly aft the opening, pro-Israel activists contacted Kent Police with claims that the amusement was anti-Semitic. Kent Police, however, recovered that nary transgression offences had taken place.

The writer successful question was Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel, who aboriginal spoke astir her acquisition connected GB News, a right-wing media outlet, saying she wanted the constabulary to “do something”. She said she had met Collings astatine the amusement and told him that the Israeli authorities “is besides the Jewish state”.

One of Collings’s artworks of the Drawings Against Genocide amusement includes the words, ‘Thou shalt not kill’ [Courtesy: Matthew Collings]

The Telegraph, a British blimpish newspaper, aboriginal reported that, successful a missive to the complainant, Kent Police wrote, “The artwork is captious of the Israeli authorities and its actions but does not see contented that is straight abusive oregon insulting towards Jewish radical arsenic a group. There is besides nary denotation of an intent by the creator to disturbance up radical oregon spiritual hatred, which is simply a circumstantial request wrong the legislation.”

“They did my enactment for me,” Collings said. “Jewishness does not mean Zionism.”

Shortly aft reaching their conclusion, however, Kent Police received much than 1,000 astir identical emails from pro-Israel senders protesting their decision, prompting an probe of a imaginable distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

Collings and his spouse have, similarly, received hundreds of thousands of emails since assorted pro-Israel quality outlets began covering the lawsuit and advocating for the closure of the show.

“Everything – each azygous happening – that they accidental astir the amusement turned retired to beryllium untrue,” Collings says. “There is nary anti-Semitic contented to the show, arsenic the constabulary said.”

In a missive obtained by Al Jazeera, primitively sent to the Margate venue and dated March 22, 2026, UKLFI urged the assemblage to cancel the grounds and claimed that “many of the images are apt to breach” nationalist upset laws, informing that “for your information, a idiosyncratic blameworthy of an offence” could beryllium fined.

Collings says his works are an ‘abstract concept’ [Courtesy: Matthew Collings]

UKLFI stated connected its website that a akin missive was sent to Delta House successful London, which responded by cancelling Drawings Against Genocide.

In the statement, UKLFI wrote, “We invited the determination to cancel this exhibition. Freedom of look is simply a cardinal right, but it does not widen to the promotion of worldly that relies connected anti-Semitic tropes, dehumanising imagery, and conspiracy narratives astir Jews.”

Delta House has not responded to Al Jazeera’s petition for comment.

Anna Ost, elder ineligible serviceman astatine the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), said she has seen silencing tactics before.

“I can’t remark connected this peculiar lawsuit arsenic I haven’t seen the exhibition; however, the information that the Kent Police recovered nary lawsuit to reply points to this being different illustration of the signifier of legally baseless threats directed astatine suppressing pro-Palestine expression,” she told Al Jazeera.

Despite the attacks, Collings remains undeterred, with upcoming shows being scheduled passim the UK and successful Australia.

“Wherever determination is simply a conflict lost, respective are won,” helium said, putting down his sketching pencil and speaking of his upcoming shows.

However, the cancellation of his May amusement created logistical concerns.

“Whatever the venue is, the idiosyncratic successful complaint of it has to beryllium an activistic similar us. If they’re not, they volition beryllium intimidated oregon someway persuaded by UK Lawyers for Israel,” helium said.

One drafting depicts an ‘anti-Zionist beverage party’ with guests including Karl Marx [Courtesy of Matthew Collings]

In the ELSC’s Britain’s Index of Repression, a database created successful collaboration with Forensic Architecture to way the repression of pro-Palestine expression, UK Lawyers for Israel appears 128 times, with 20 of these cases targeting creator and taste institutions, Ost said.

“Since creation and civilization person the imaginable of reaching larger audiences, they would beryllium a strategical people for those actors sustaining Israel’s genocide and settler colonialism, to marque definite Palestine is erased, and nary 1 is talking astir genocide oregon challenging complicity successful it,” she noted.

David Cannon, seat of the Jewish Network for Palestine, told Al Jazeera successful a telephone telephone that the suppression of pro-Palestine look is “systemic”.

He cited caller protests against the British Museum aft it removed respective mentions of “Palestine” successful its displays and accusation panels.

The British Museum made these changes aft the UK Lawyers for Israel intervened, arsenic reported by the Guardian, mirroring the signifier of Delta House and respective of the institutions tracked by the ELSC.

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, spokesperson of Jewish Voice for Liberation, warned against taking Collings’s images retired of context.

“The drawings are shocking, arsenic befits their taxable matter, similar Goya’s images of horrors of war. They are not anti-Semitic. It is the genocide that is targeted, not Jews,” she told Al Jazeera.

“A visitant is escaped to participate oregon permission arsenic they wish,” she said, adding that the rubric of the amusement provides viewers with the context. “Lacking discourse and explanation, it could beryllium upsetting and easy misinterpreted. In this case, it’s wide that a hostile idiosyncratic chose to participate the assemblage and past acted arsenic if they had stumbled crossed his enactment each unawares.”

Despite receiving enactment from onlookers and pro-Palestine organisers, Collings expressed disappointment successful the creation world.

“I perceive from celebrated and established artists who privately promote maine and bargain my enactment and accidental they’re atrocious to perceive this is happening to me, but they don’t needfully travel retired publically and accidental they’re sorry,” helium said. “Pro-Palestine sentiment is not invited successful the creation world.”