ELK: Luke Cornish exhibition at Deakin University Art Gallery

Deakin University Art Gallery proudly presents a survey exhibition of works by acclaimed stencil artist Luke Cornish, known by the street art moniker ELK, curated by Kira Godoroja-Prieckaerts.

Cornish has been integral in propelling stencil art into the wider Australian art scene. He took up the medium in the early 2000s and received early critical success winning the Australian Stencil Art Prize in 2010 with the portrait Saul Williams (2009), which has been described as ‘a tipping point for photorealistic stencil in Australia’¹. He then became the first stencil artist selected for the Archibald Prize in 2012 with Father Bob (2012), a portrait of beloved Victorian priest Father Bob Maguire.

The accolades for Cornish’s work have continued. He has been included in the Archibald a total of four times and won several prizes, including most recently the 2024 Gallipoli Art Prize with the work The Pity of War (2024). He has held 22 solo exhibitions and been included in well over 50 group exhibitions in Australia and internationally.

A self-described artist/activist, Cornish’s work responds to prevalent social concerns of the time; personal experiences of travel, friendships and adversity; and specific large-scale social events such as wars, COVID-19 and technological developments. What persists over time is a want, or need, to start conversations. To disrupt de-humanising narratives and replace them with curiosity and compassion—provoking questions rather than giving answers.

Working in the medium for more than two decades, Cornish finds ‘stencil art is a powerful medium for social and political commentary because of its accessibility, speed, and bold visual impact.’ During this time he has been pushing the technical possibilities of stencilling. His works can use up to one thousand stencils and hundreds of layers of aerosol paint. Initially hand-cutting all his stencils, he now uses a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, allowing him to increase the scale and intricacy of his works. A time-consuming practice as each layer must dry before the next is applied, and if a single layer is misaligned the whole work is lost.

This exhibition features significant works from across Cornish’s career from public institutions, private collections across Australia and the artist’s own collection. As well as new works recently acquired by Deakin University: Kevin McKenzie (2025), and Orbiting Thoughts, Yellow (2025) made in collaboration with Christophe Domergue.

The exhibition was officially launched by Dr Ken McGregor, acclaimed author, collector and philanthropist.

Visit our Art Gallery page to discover more.

ELK: Luke Cornish

Wednesday 11 February to Friday 1 May 2025

Deakin University Art Gallery

Monday-Friday 10am-4pm Free entry.

Please Note: The work in this exhibition features imagery relating to war, religion and social conflict

¹. Jacinta Fintan,’2010: Winner’, CUT: 10 Years of the Stencil Art Prize, Not Quite Newtown, 2021, 21