Callum Preston's Nostalgic New Exhibition Is Dedicated to the Things We Accumulate Throughout Life

Acclaimed Aussie artist Callum Preston has shown off plenty of his nostalgic side, having delighted audiences when he recreated a 70s-style milk bar — complete with painted timber chocolate bars, magazines and soft drink cans — back in 2017. Before that, he was responsible for a life-sized replica of a DeLorean for 2015 artwork Bootleg to the Future. But now, fresh from helping to bring to life Rone's acclaimed Empire work last year — which saw a deserted art deco mansion transformed into a multifaceted, immersive art experience — Preston is switching up the pace for his latest solo exhibition, titled Everything Is Borrowed.

The exhibition is part of a five-week residency at the Rialto's KSR Art Bar. The space has also become Preston's studio — and while the show doesn't officially open until Thursday, November 21, from today, you can drop by the bar to see him working on pieces for the show.

These pieces will be a hand-crafted collection of mixed-media works, canvases and Preston's signature painted timber panel piece — and everything will be made on-site. The diverse collection — which will be constantly updated — will be a homage to the multitude of items we humans accumulate throughout our lives.

Callum Preston.

Everything Is Borrowed is a reference to The Streets' song of the same name, and, taking inspiration from it, Preston will capture the changing value we place on those everyday treasures and trinkets. "We live in a material world, but most of the time it's about what an item means to a person, more than its monetary value," explains Preston.

The studio itself is made entirely from recycled materials, with an eclectic assembly of notes, sketches, offcuts, photos, tools, and other bits and pieces gracing its walls. It's worth taking a stickybeak at over a drink one night after work — then head back between Novembre 21 and December 21 to see the exhibition in its entirety.

Callum Preston's 'Everything Is Borrowed' will run from Thursday, November 21, to Saturday, December 7 — but you can drop by and see him at work from today. It's happening at the KSR Art Bar, ground floor, Rialto Piazza, entry via 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, and will be open from 4–11pm Monday to Friday.