The JC has learnt, however, that the artist has a criminal record for spray-painting his graffiti “tag” across Plymouth. In 2020, Phillips pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court to 10 counts of criminal damage at 19 locations across the city, according to local news site Plymouth Live. He was given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order and ordered to pay the council more than £4,650, in addition to court costs. At sentencing, the magistrates reportedly told the then 29-year-old to “grow up”.
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Among the anti-Israel works produced by Phillips is one depicting a masked figure appearing to represent Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the IDF in October 2024 and is widely regarded as the architect of the October 7 attacks. In the work, the figure is seated in an arm chair amid rubble with a gun propped up beside him. It bears the caption: “Does the world expect us to be well-behaved victims while we’re getting killed?”
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Another creation, featuring the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, shows a bulldozer smashing through metal fencing, and bears a resemblance to the methods of entry used by some of the terrorists who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. That image was posted online on an account that appears to belong to Phillips on October 8, 2023.
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The same artwork was seen on a placard during an anti-Israel demonstration in London less than a month after the attacks. When its use in the protest was condemned on social media as a “clear glorification of Hamas”, an X account believed to be run by Phillips that has since been suspended replied: “I just f***ing love bulldozers and hate genocide.”
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One poster bearing the words “Death, death to the IDF!” over an illustration of a skull wearing an IDF helmet with an Israeli flag and a bleeding bullet hole was shared by an art house in Toronto last year ahead of an exhibition. The words appears to echo the slogan chanted by the controversial punk duo Bob Vylan during a performance at Glastonbury, an incident widely condemned by politicians and Jewish organisations in this country. The band has repeatedly denied allegations of antisemitism.
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Another piece portrays a keffiyeh-clad man and an inverted red triangle – a symbol associated with support for Hamas – under the words “freedom by any means”.
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A separate image shows a man being hanged beneath the caption “One less Zionist”; another features crosshairs superimposed over the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside the word “DIE”; and a third states “burn Zionism to the ground”.
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In addition to numerous anti-Israel works, Phillips regularly depicts anti-capitalist, and extreme anti-Police and anti-US immigration enforcement officials (ICE) imagery.
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One artwork depicts the assassination of US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, with the words “F***ed around and found out”. Other imagery available for purchase, features the words “Engage with politicians” beside an image of an assault rifle.
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Alex Hearn, of the campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism, called Phillips work “sick” and accused the graphic designer of spreading “violent hate across the globe.”
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“Celebrating Hamas bulldozers on October 7, 2023 and what appears to be Sinwar is not acceptable discourse,” he said. “It is extraordinary that nothing has been done about this violent imagery seen on T-shirts, placards, stickers and memes, such as ‘death to the IDF’ showing a bleeding bullet hole in a skull.
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He continued: “Saluting the execution of ‘Zionists’, politicians and others while calling for ‘intifada’ in an already febrile climate is abhorrent. This isn’t activism. It’s dangerous incitement that puts Jewish lives at risk. There must be prosecutions.”
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Phillips did not respond to requests for comment.
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