Artist Matthew Collings Defends Cancelled 'Drawings Against Genocide' Exhibit After Police Find No Crime

Matthew Collings, a UK artist in his 70s, has produced over 3,000 drawings since 2018. He shifted from art criticism to creating drawings after moving to Norfolk. About a third of those works focus on Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he describes as genocide. The series titled Drawings Against Genocide was set to open in London this month after a debut in Margate. The show was cancelled after the UK Lawyers for Israel complained that the images were anti‑Semitic. The gallery withdrew the exhibition following the allegation.

Collings stated that his artwork is not anti‑Semitic but is directed against genocide. He said the drawings criticize policies, not Jewish people. Kent Police reviewed the exhibition after receiving complaints and concluded that no criminal offence had been committed. They noted the work criticizes the Israeli state without targeting Jews as a group. The police determination came despite more than 1,000 similar emails protesting their decision, which they investigated as a possible distributed denial‑of‑service attack, a tactic that floods a server with traffic to disrupt service.

The incident highlights the tension between artistic expression and allegations of hate speech in the UK. Legal authorities found the work protected under free speech standards, yet public pressure led to its cancellation. Observers will watch whether the gallery seeks a new venue, if the artist pursues legal remedies for the cancellation, and how similar debates unfold around political art.