Interview
Elliott Fox
Elliott Fox is an emerging mixed media artist based in Canberra, Australia and a passionate advocate for greyhounds. He is parent/kahu to rescue greyhound and artistic muse, Adam Barker. Elliott is a works with mediums including impasto painting, sculpture, and screen printing. He is currently completing a Diploma of Visual Arts and is delivering his début solo exhibition travelling across Australia, titled 'Saint Grey.'
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I’m a second career emerging artist based in Canberra, Australia and a passionate advocate for greyhounds. I’ve had the benefit of lived experience as a non-English speaking migrant, a gay man, and a person with disabilities. Born in July 1984 (né Lukas Sigut), my family escaped Communism in Czechoslovakia to immigrate to Australia in 1986. Having an unsettled upbringing with conflicting cultural expectations gave me an early appreciation for the value of diversity and the importance of inclusion. After completing several university qualifications in science, psychology, international relations and law, and a 15-year corporate career, I shifted my life purpose and direction to pursue my innate passion for the visual arts and advocating for better care and protection of greyhounds and all non-human animals. During the past four years I have been developing my art practice, completing a Diploma of Visual Arts, and currently delivering my début solo exhibition travelling across Australia.”
What inspires you?
“Since March 2020, I’ve been a parent/kahu to rescue greyhound and artistic muse, Adam Barker. Adam has been a significant source of inspiration for my art and advocacy. Learning about him has given me a deeper appreciation for the individual characters and personalities of all sentient beings. Non-human animals are deserving of the same care, comfort, protection and love as all family members. This is at odds with the commoditisation and exploitation by the corrupt racing industry, where in Australia a greyhound continues to die on a racetrack every three days, and more than 30 are injured daily for the sole purpose of gambling. This journey of advocacy has coincided with my return to the visual arts and has become interwoven with my artistic inspirations, conceptualisations and expressions.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The primary aim of my work is to meaningfully engage the audience, both emotionally and intellectually. Good communication is an art, and good art can communicate. I undertake this across numerous evolving themes that are founded upon life experience, lessons and insights that I strive to share through my art in an accessible and meaningful way. As a mixed media visual artist, I have a passion for creating subtle, symbolic, and thought-provoking artworks. My current art series is focused on advocating for rescue greyhounds as sentient beings and family members, and my next art series will engage people about having a foreign identity in the context of non-human animal life.”
How would you describe your work?
“Many artists strive to create work with a recognisable individual style that has refined or adapted a particular approach. I’m more interested in people engaging widely with my art and its message, rather than knowing that I’m the artist. I strive to create art that is meaningful, contemplative and soulful. I draw on my diversity of background and lived experience to work with several artistic mediums, and using principles of harmony, simplicity and elegance. I describe my work as sensory and conscious.”
Which artists influence you most?
“My early influences were the impasto paintings of Vincent van Gogh and the Japanese culture and aesthetics of Ukiyo-e prints. Since then, I have developed a deeper appreciation for artworks that are able to connect with people in meaningful ways and seek to contribute to making the world a kinder and more compassionate place. My visual aesthetic is guided by simplicity and elegance of style. I appreciate the simplicity and elegance of style, yet bold and striking meanings of artworks by Banksy, Keith Haring, Frida Kahlo, Reena Saini Kallat, and Jo Fredericks.”
“I strive to create art that is meaningful, contemplative and soulful. I draw on my diversity of background and lived experience to work with several artistic mediums, and using principles of harmony, simplicity and elegance.”
What is your creative process like?
“I primarily work with art mediums that are layered and multi-dimensional to engage and stimulate the audiences’ senses. This is achieved through sculptures, impasto/textured paintings, and silk screen prints with depth of structure, form and colour. My creative process seeks to engage with the subject to portray their individuality. For example, when I paint portraits, I engage with the subject and then paint their environment first, followed by their body and face, and leaving their eyes to last. By this stage, I feel I have gotten to know them a bit better and hope the portrait has become more soulful.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The difficulty with a lot of contemporary art, is that it often relies on esoteric and exclusionary approaches to give a false impression of relevance. Indeed, many artists in the past have recognised this issue and created art satire, such as the work of Piero Manzoni. There remain a place and a role for experimental art in society, however, a lot of contemporary art appears to be lacking wisdom and altruïsm. This misses a valuable opportunity to engage with more people to change hearts and minds, rather than simply speaking at them. I strongly believe that art needs to be more than a pretty picture. Art transcends boundaries and challenges present norms – growing our awareness and understanding of different experiences, perspectives, and ideas. Art is a powerful and inherent means of communication, which persists after cultures end. In a modern world saturated with misinformation, complacency, and fear, it is art that is needed more than ever.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My début solo exhibition on greyhounds and dog racing is currently touring Australia and showcases artworks across my preferred mediums of impasto painting, screen printing, and sculpture. The title of the exhibition, 'Saint Grey', is also the name of the reverent centrepiece sculpture. This exhibition seeks to engage audiences through soulful greyhound portraitures to showcase their characters and personalities as family members, as well using subtle messaging and symbolism to stimulate conversation about the commodification of these sentient beings for gambling exploitation. The exhibition launched in Sydney in August 2025 at a spectacular and sold-out opening night, and has even been twice mentioned in the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament. Following Sydney, NSW (August 2025), the exhibition then travels to Canberra, ACT (12-25 September 2025), Melbourne, VIC (10-23 October 2025), Shearwater, TAS (1 November - 6 December 2025), and Perth, WA (13-21 January 2026). There has been considerable local, national and international interest, sponsorship and in-kind support for the Saint Grey art exhibition, including a new Principal Sponsor, GREY2K USA Worldwide, who are a major greyhound advocacy group around the world. Proceeds from an online auction sale of the 18 artworks will be donated to supporting greyhound charities and advocacy groups.”
