In what could be one of the most politically charged exhibitions this year, and certainly one of the highlights of our exhibition going – E.L.K. returns to Metro Gallery this week with an exhibition of real, honest and insightful works garnered from one of the most dangerous parts of the world today – Syria.

“Following a successful 2013, where he achieved the highest ever auction record for a street artist, Luke Cornish will again use his desire to bring social awareness and change through his work. Charlie Foxtrot, in his latest exhibition to be held at Metro Gallery in Armadale Victoria opening on 12 June 2014, will be opened by controversial Catholic Priest, Father Bob Maguire.

The exhibition follows Cornish’s journey to the Middle East where he wanted to gain access to Syria to photograph the ongoing civil war and highlight its humanitarian impact.

What ensued was a series of major road blocks. What could go wrong, went wrong, badly – He arrived at the Syrian border only to be turned away as a potential spy. Cornish and his ‘fixer’ headed out with long time war correspondents to hide that he didn’t have accreditation to photograph the region and they were caught in cross fire in Tripoli between soldiers and insurgents.

Hauntingly captivating, the collection symbolises the strength of human spirit no matter the obstacles we face.

Charlie Foxtrot – In radio communication or polite conversation (i.e. with a very senior officer with whom you have no prior experience) the term “clusterfuck” will often be replaced by the NATO phonetic acronym “Charlie Foxtrot.”

Metro Gallery Manager, Jacinta Cavalot, said: “Cornish’s work continues to connect with your soul and challenge your thoughts. Without a doubt these are his best works yet.”

We have followed E.L.K. for many years, and have watched his work go from his early street art based cut and spray to enigmatic works of both poignancy and beauty. His stencils are usually produced with technical mastery, but seeing some of the new images, many of which are brutally honest and candid, really just pushes to the fore that it is the soul of his work that lays at the core of his popularity.

“Clusterfuck” is a show we’ve always wanted to see by his hand – and now it’s upon us. Head down to Metro Gallery this week to check it all out.

Who: E.L.K.
What: Charlie Foxtrot – aka Cluster Fuck solo show
Where: Metro Gallery, 1214 High St, Armadale, Melbourne
When: Show opens Thursday June 12th from 6:30pm til 8:30pm and runs for three weeks,

Check out E.L.K. at his website, fb page and the Facebook event page for more info.