The Sea

Works from Syria, at the Lock Up gallery in Newcastle

Colour your stay- Art series hotels

Art Series Hotels will challenge its guests to grab a spray can, mask up and leave their mark on the walls of three of its properties from Monday 15 October to Sunday 30 December. The hotels will open a white-washed room at The Johnson, Spring Hill hotel to be transformed into a collective canvas as part of a participatory art project.

Famed for daring campaigns inspired by the latest trends in art and travel, Colour Your Stay will rely on guests to help create an ever-changing mural and become part of the shared experience. A pioneer of the Australian street art and stencil movement, Luke Cornish (aka ELK) will lead the project. In a nod to the hotels namesake artists, he will create bespoke artwork for the location, a portrait of Michael Johnson, that guests are called on to complete. Upon check in hotel staff will share instructions and guests can register to participate. A variety of tools, such as spray cans and masks, will be available for guests to use in the room, with each person given two minutes to unleash the artist within. Transgressing the “look but don’t touch” restriction of conventional gallery culture, the stark white interior will be transformed as hundreds of collaborators leave their mark.

Cornish says of his involvement in the campaign, “I’m thrilled to be working with Art Series Hotels on Colour Your Stay. Their dedication to supporting urban art and all of its wonderful satellite genres is a passion I share and I’m really excited to see what we create together with guests.”

Concrete Jungle

Join us on Wednesday 2nd of March for drinks to celebrate the opening of "Concrete Jungle" an exhibiton of new works from Stencil artist Luke Cornish (ELK)

Drawing inspiration from over twenty countries travelled to in two years, ELK takes the medium of stencil art to a new level with his latest offering, incorporating over 800 hand cut layers and 200 colours into the paintings, and up to two months of solitary confinement to bring them into creation.

Focusing on the Urban landscape, the human condition and the correlation between the two, ELKs new body of work must be seen to be believed.

YourKidCantDoThis

I'm curating an international group stencil art show at ambush gallery in Sydney opening June 26th, its a who's who of stencil, possibly the best stencil show, ever. Check it out.

Hunter Mural for Public2015 in Perth

In April this year I was lucky to be included in the 2015 line up for the Public art festival in Perth, put on by the good people at FORM WA. I didn't really want to show up and paint a pretty picture on a wall and then leave, being given such a large scale wall in a prominent position I really wanted to do something that would resonate within the community.

I decided on doing a tribute piece to the king of Oz hip hop Rob Hunter (MC Hunter), who sadly passed away from Cancer in 2011 aged 36. The response to this mural, which was all done freehand (a departure from the usual stencils) was overwhelming, with an online reach of 300,000 in 24 hours, and hundreds of messages of gratitude and respect. It really goes to show how loved this pioneer of Australian rap was in the perth music scene and nationally.

The highlight of painting this wall for me was being visited by Rob's Mother Trish and partner Laura, getting their blessing and approval really did mean a lot to me.

Hunter was posthumously inducted into the WA music industry hall of fame in 2012, the first rapper to get in, and his story is followed in the documentary film Hunter: for the record

Massive thanks to Laura, Deej, Drapht and the guys at Form for trusting me to make it happen. The Mural can be viewed at the Central Tafe building, Museum St, Northbridge, Perth.

First Landing to Last Post: contemporary perspectives on 100 years of service

Can Portrait Commissions

SPECIAL OFFER... For a limited time only (until I lose interest in doing this) I will be creating personalised portrait commissions on aerosol cans, these are original one of a kind artworks. For more information contact elkstencils@hotmail.com, get in quick

Black Swan prize 2014

Happy to announce that I am a finalist in this years Black Swan prize with my portrait of the legend Uncle Jack Charles. Click here to see the other amazing shortlistees

London Solo show "Louder than words"

Augmented Wilarity

Clip of the Augmented reality feature for my portrait of Comedian Wil Anderson

Melbourne Solo Exhibition "Clusterfuck" (aka Charlie Foxtrot)

To witness: The artist’s looking glass

A Short Essay on the Works of Luke Cornish (ELK)

By James Arvanitakis

In our day-to-day lives, much of what we experience is mundane and ordinary. We tend to focus on our personal daily small ‘crises’: from the 7.42am bus running five minutes late to the internet slowing down when the rain is particularly heavy as the local exchange is vulnerable to such weather; or the frustration when the barista we like from my favourite café is not working and the coffee is not strong enough: these ‘problems’ of life distract us.

Beyond the walls of our comfortable homes and the borders of our wealthy nation, the everyday experiences of the majority of the world’s population are vastly different.  A recent report by the independent non-government organisation World Watch, for example, conservatively estimates that in 2012, 92.6 million people were forcibly displaced either inside their own countries or across borders. The reasons that people were forced to leave their homes and belongings, as well as their communities and families, ranged from warfare and persecution to natural disasters and ‘development’ projects.

It is close to impossible to imagine what it would mean to leave everything behind and squeeze what you can into a suitcase. Decisions become final: which few photos do I choose? Which clothes are the most versatile? What of the items that remind me of my faith but risk me being persecuted?

Such stories are all around us: from the refugee who made it to our country and now fights a system that is prejudiced against them and deaf to their plight, to the nightly news bulletins of war and displacement in far away places such as Syria and the Congo. In fact, we are often over-saturated by such images and have learnt to turn off: quickly changing the channel or moving to the entertainment section of the newspaper.

Are we now destined to turn our backs on such suffering because we are so overwhelmed and disempowered? What can make us turn back and witness the suffering and ask ‘what can I do?’, not with a sense of futility but with the determination of ‘hope’?

Now, more than ever, this is the role of the artist: the painter, the slam poet, the playwright. 

In his latest work, this is exactly what Luke Cornish achieves. Travelling to the refugee camps of Lebanon and surrounded by the sound of gunfire, Luke draws on his artistic skills to bear witness to the suffering, hope, violence and everydayness of the displacement and conflicts.

Luke acts as our witness.

What Luke does here is present us with works that act as a looking glass through which we can see the darkest elements of crumbling societies – where we could be if not for the accident of our birth. We see the collapse, conflict and displacement of once vibrant worlds. But again, as Luke finds in the bleakest corners of the world, he finds reasons to celebrate the resilience of communities and the continued sense of hope despite the surrounding despair.

This collection of works can be contrasted to his 2013 exhibition, Before Afghanistan, which focussed on Australia’s soldiers, their anonymity, battle armour and weaponry. While the Australian soldiers in their armour looked alien, Luke now takes us on an intimate journey.

While the anonymity of Australian soldiers almost repelled us, the vulnerability of the displaced and those whose daily lives are surrounded by conflict draws us in: this, for better or worse, is now their home. 

In contrast to the browns and black and the almost uniformity of the soldiers, this exhibition is one of difference and disparity. We are presented with the multiple dimensions that capture the mixed emotions and juxtaposition of zones of conflict. 

His layers of stencils and paint capture and reflect the layers of complexity and emotion he attempts to capture.

Luke portrays two brothers in a shared moment, staring at something just off the gaze of his portrait. These are traders, Luke tells us, who continue their family business of buying and selling fine fabrics. There is also the old man wearing a ‘Real Chicken’ t-shirt capturing us with his contemplation and disarming us with his relaxed posture.

Then there is the woman carrying her infant child: is that a look of desperation or defiance? Will she make it through the day? What happens to her and her child after this image?

There is the powerful contrast of the ‘outsiders’. The vulnerability of the man struggling to carry two full suitcases: these suitcases do not have wheels to ease his burden – and if they did, they appear to have fallen off years earlier. The load heavy on his shoulders, we wonder what these cases contain? What choices and sacrifices did this man make in filling them up?

We can contrast this moment with that of the other outsider:  the reporter in her blue ‘Press’ jacket, smiling. Her film crew stare at us protecting the camera equipment with an umbrella. Unlike the desperate man running with the suitcases, she has chosen to be here. She too has made certain sacrifices – but ones that are very distinct from the displaced.

Finally there is the ominous anonymity of the insurgents: carrying high-powered weaponry, their faces hidden, their body language menacing. Luke captures their thin, protein-deprived bodies. Are they trained soldiers or random militia who picked up arms from desperation and lack of choice?

All these figures ‘float’ in a white background making them feel simultaneously distant and approximate. Surprisingly, this aids our ability to witness the lives portrayed by Luke through his unique looking glass.

We should never underestimate the concept of ‘the witness’. Prominent philosopher and feminist Kelly Oliver, draws out attention to this word ‘witness’.

Oliver discussed the concept of witness as having a ‘double meaning’: either being an eyewitness or bearing witness to something that may well be the unseen. To witness something, Oliver argues, both directly and indirectly provides the promise of building a connection with someone – be they friend or stranger. Witnessing offers the possibility to address and respond to what we have seen – it can create a sense of ethical obligation.

When we turn away, we refuse to witness. But Luke responds to this instinct by providing a looking glass through which to see the crises confronting large sections of the world population. We are encouraged to witness – and how we respond is ultimately up to us.

Once again, Luke’s work crosses the boundaries, taking us from ‘street art’ to the gallery. More importantly, however, is the boundary that he forces us to confront – from looking away to witnessing the horrors of war and displacement. 

This work, like that which has preceded it, confirms why Luke is such a valuable artist for our times.

Professor James Arvanitakis

University of Western Sydney

5 April 2014

Into the void....

"into the void" Joint show with Will Coles at Art Equity, view catalogue here- http://artequity.com.au/will-coles-luke-cornish-may-14.aspx

Wil Anderson

This years Archibald entry is done, Comedian Wil Anderson.