The man who created the 'Isis' dildo flag has finally spoken up

The man who created the dildo-clad mock-Isis banner for Saturday's Pride march in London has spoken up after making headlines around the world.

The creation of Paul Coombs completely flummoxed CNN, with the US broadcaster somehow mistaking the sex toys for genuine extremist iconography.

After CNN's cock-up, the London-based artist decided to explain his reasons for the design and what he hopes to achieve with what he calls the 'dildosis' flag.

[My] motivation for this work was to demonstrate as much respect for Isis and their ideology as Isis shows for the people and religion it claims to represent.

• Paul Coombs

Coombs explained in a statement that the dildo has become "something of a totem" in his work and, for him, represents "liberty and repression, sex and abstinence, intimacy and violence".

The brutalisation and murder of individuals simply for holding differing beliefs, or for being of an alternate sexuality, is this organisation’s hallmark and something that should be at the top of the world’s conscience.

The victimisation of an individual because of their sexuality, regarding the person as nothing more than a sex object, is highlighted in this work by the use of the dildo motif.

• Paul Coombs

Coombs, who has used the flag at several Pride marches before, said he made it around most of Saturday's circuit before being stopped by police at Piccadilly Circus and asked to confirm that it was indeed a dildo flag and not an Isis banner.

You can see more of Coombs' work, including a high-resolution version of ‘dildosis’ on his website.

More: No CNN, that is not an Isis flag at Pride. It's a dildo flag