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UK artist defends ‘Drawings Against Genocide’ after London show cancelled

English artist Matthew Collings speaks out after his London exhibition 'Drawings Against Genocide' was cancelled following an intervention by UK Lawyers for Israel, which claimed the images were anti-Semitic. Kent Police found no criminal offences, and Collings insists his work targets genocide, not Jews.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 1 article Version 1 Coverage May 14, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

English artist Matthew Collings has defended his exhibition “Drawings Against Genocide” after the London show was cancelled, saying the artwork is aimed at genocide and not at Jewish people. The cancellation followed an intervention by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which claimed the images were anti-Semitic.

Coverage comparison

Al Jazeera’s coverage of the story focuses on the artist’s defense and the circumstances surrounding the cancellation. One report includes an in-depth interview with Collings at his home in Norfolk, where he explains his artistic practice and responds to the allegations. Another report presents the cancellation more briefly, noting that the show was cancelled after “outrage and protests.”

Key claims

Collings, an artist in his 70s, says he has created more than 3,000 drawings over the past six years, having moved away from art commentary and criticism. Since October 2023, he says a third of his drawings have focused on Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

The exhibition, which debuted under its current title earlier this year in Margate at Joseph Wales Studios, contains 130 drawings depicting violence against Palestinians, with various blood-bathed military, political, and business leaders.

UK Lawyers for Israel claimed the images were anti-Semitic, allegations that Collings rejects. “It’s very clear in the title what they’re against, they’re not against Jews,” he told 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 a state that would not exist were it not for Zionism. Nothing in my drawings for genocide is remotely anti-Semitic.”

The allegations of anti-Semitism have focused on portrayals of Jewish people in the drawings and allegations that various images depict blood libel, child sacrifice, and other hateful themes.

Kent Police found that no criminal offences had taken place regarding the exhibit, according to Al Jazeera.

Collings also said he received hundreds of thousands of emails after pro-Israel news outlets covered the case and advocated for the closure of the show.

How this outlet told it

Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC

Framing: Artist's exhibition cancelled due to false anti-Semitism claims — Critical of pro-Israel groups and supportive of the artist

Facts Included:

Matthew Collings is an English artist in his 70s
He has made over 3,000 drawings in the past six years
A third of his drawings since October 2023 focus on Israel's genocide against Palestinians
His exhibit 'Drawings Against Genocide' was cancelled in London after intervention by UK Lawyers for Israel
The exhibit debuted in Margate earlier this year with 130 drawings depicting violence against Palestinians
UKLFI claimed the images were anti-Semitic
Kent Police found no criminal offences had taken place
Collings received hundreds of thousands of emails after pro-Israel news outlets covered the case

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimMatthew Collings is an English artist in his 70s. He has made over 3,000 drawings in the past six years.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC
ClaimA third of Matthew Collings' drawings since October 2023 focus on Israel's genocide against Palestinians.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC
ClaimMatthew Collings' exhibition 'Drawings Against Genocide' was cancelled in London after intervention by UK Lawyers for Israel.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC
ClaimThe exhibit 'Drawings Against Genocide' debuted in Margate earlier this year with 130 drawings depicting violence against Palestinians.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC
ClaimUK Lawyers for Israel claimed the images in 'Drawings Against Genocide' were anti-Semitic.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC
ClaimKent Police found no criminal offences had taken place regarding the exhibit 'Drawings Against Genocide'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC
ClaimMatthew Collings received hundreds of thousands of emails after pro-Israel news outlets covered the case and advocated for the closure of the show.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 14, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Al Jazeera 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15