The Art Collective Taking On Their MP - Collective Ending Artists Speak Out on Gaza Inaction

Collective Ending, the artist-led studio and gallery complex in South East London, has launched their first local activism campaign targeting just one individual: their local MP. 

The Deptford-based art collective have released a poster campaign calling out their local MP, Labour's Vicky Foxcroft, for abstaining from voting for a ceasefire in Gaza. They refer to this abstinence as a refusal to comment on the 20,000+ lives that have been lost due to the ongoing violence towards Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government.

The headline on the main billboard is situated less than 500m away from their local representative's office, and tells passers-by that it “refuses to comment on genocide” much like many MPs, such as Collective Ending’s local Labour MP for Lewisham, Deptford, Vicky Foxcroft, who abstained from voting for a ceasefire at the House of Commons on 12 November 2023. The group have been inspired by the collective action taking place across the world to raise our voices against injustice and hold governments to account for their role in perpetuating violence and hate, our billboard calls on MPs “to move towards a genuine solution to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine” and provides a link to a list of 75+ learning and action resources that they have collated.⁣ 

They explain, “We want to highlight the incredible range of voices that have contributed to the Palestinian cause, that stand against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and that fight for solidarity and human rights. Spanning across Britain, Israel, Palestine and further organisations, these include local petitions, learning resources, human rights expertise and direct action groups.”

Alongside the main billboard, Collective Ending members have created supporting posters designed by the artists, which are installed across their entire borough of Lewisham. The posters call on MPs ‘to move towards a genuine solution to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine’ and provide a link to a list of 75+ learning and action resources collated by the artist group. These include local petitions, learning resources, human rights expertise, fundraising drives and direct action groups from Lewisham, Britain, Israel, Palestine and further international organisations. The group have featured a handful of them on their Instagram page, but the full list is comprehensive and growing. 

The selected gestures and symbols within the artists' posters show solidarity with Gaza in different ways. One image speaks to local action and is taken from Lewisham marches for Palestine showing a censored love heart and a Palestinian flag, another draws on  a 90’s Israeli ad campaign that promoted peace between Israel and Palestine, featuring the word “Peace” in Arabic, Hebrew and English over a halftone printed image of a bright blue sky. Others include the national flower of Palestine (an Iris haynei flower) and a cross section of an olive tree, which is a long-standing symbol of Israeli oppression and Palestinian resistance. Further posters feature the Palestinian symbol of resistance: a watermelon. One has a Waldinger quote carved into its surface, calling for solidarity and care, and the importance of community. Another features the Doomsday Clock as a symbolic timepiece measuring how far humanity is from its own doom, with midnight marking the point of annihilation. At the time of printing, this clock stood at 90 seconds to midnight. 

Collective Ending members released a statement, saying, “For months, millions of people have been marching on the street calling for a ceasefire and thousands of people have written to their local MP to voice their horror at the scale of violence and destruction in Gaza – we see none of this action or feeling reflected in the actions of our MPs. They refused to vote for a permanent ceasefire in November, and Britain abstained from voting for a ceasefire at the UN – despite 153 member states voting in favour. This inaction is contributing to a genocide, unfolding in real time.”

Collective Endings campaign launched just as hearings begin at the International Courts of Justice, in which South Africa has made claims of Israel’s ‘genocidal intent’, stating that that “by killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and by creating conditions on life ‘calculated to bring about their physical destruction’, Israel is committing genocide against them”. 

Members of Collective Ending add, “As frustrating as it is that our representatives choose inaction over Gaza, we know that there are incredible organisations working towards a genuine solution between Israel and Palestine to end the occupation, as well as people campaigning to keep the issue in the public consciousness. We wanted to contribute, to show that even if our MPs won’t act, there are others who will.”

They continue: “We want to see Britain do more to protect lives in Gaza, so we invite those who feel the same, to amplify our message and to pressure their own representatives to act.”