Sydney stencil artist Luke Cornish wins 2026 Gallipoli Art Prize

The work responds to the desecration of the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, where Cornish’s great uncle, Alfred Cook of the Australian Light Horse, is buried. Using composite stencil techniques, the work is painted on board and finished with acrylic cement to evoke the texture of sandstone Commonwealth War Graves headstones. Dripping black paint at the edges — a hallmark of graffiti culture and vandalism — connects the work to Cornish’s urban art practice.

“The destruction of a war cemetery is more than damage to stone and soil; it is a violation of memory,” Cornish said. “Graves are sacred not because of politics, but because they hold the human cost of conflict. When the resting place of the dead is disturbed, it unsettles the living as well.”

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs confirmed in February 2026 that the cemetery had suffered extensive damage in the region’s current conflict, and that it remained unsafe to access for assessment.

Judge Elizabeth Fortescue described the work as “an impressive but stark reminder of the sacrifices made by human beings across the span of historical time, and the need for successive generations to honour their memories in perpetuity.”

Cornish has now won the prize twice, having previously taken the top honour in 2024 for The Pity of War — a contemporary reimagining of Michelangelo’s La Pietà depicting two figures in gas masks. Born in Canberra in 1979, Cornish is widely regarded as Australia’s foremost stencil artist, known for meticulous, photo-realistic portraiture built entirely from hand-cut stencils and aerosol paint. His work is held in public and private collections internationally, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Australian War Memorial. 2026 also marked his first retrospective exhibition, held at the Deakin University Art Gallery.

Two works received judges’ commendations. Jon Potter‘s painting 1917 honours Evelyn Chapman — an Australian artist and the first woman to visit and paint scenes from the First World War — as well as the broader legacy of war artists and correspondents. Peter Whitehead‘s mixed media work Perennial Vigilance depicts the historic fortifications at Georges Head above Sydney Harbour, rendered as plein air drawings on paper.

The prize is judged this year by Fortescue, Jane Watters, and John Robertson, President of the Gallipoli Memorial Club. Robertson noted the range of contemporary reference in the submissions. “Reference to the Gaza conflict, Australian casualties in Afghanistan and the Bondi Massacre remind us of the reference within the Ode of the foundation of perpetual peace,” he said.

Previous winners of the Gallipoli Art Prize include Euan Macleod (2009), Idris Murphy (2014) and Jiawei Shen(2016).

No Rest (The Vandalism of Deir al-Balah) and the full exhibition of finalists is on show at 6–8 Atherden Street, The Rocks, Sydney, from 16 April to 10 May 2026. Free entry.