Melbourne Artist Callum Preston Has Recreated a Functional 90s-Style Milk Bar

Before social media, the local milk bar was usually where youngsters went to socialise. Though there's still a few of them about (including 2223 in Sydney and Rowena Corner Store in Richmond), they're fast becoming a thing of the past. That's why Melbourne-based artist Callum Preston has gone to painstaking lengths to recreate one, detail by detail.

You'll find his incredibly realistic, immersive artwork Milk Bar in RVCA Corner Gallery, Collingwood, from Friday 1 December. Walking in, it'll be easy to imagine you're in a bona fide corner shop, as the installation is fully operational. But take a closer peek and you'll notice the chocolate bars, magazines and soft drink cans aren't what they seem. They're pretend versions of themselves that Preston has created by hand.

"For most of us, these simpler times might have passed," Preston said. "Sure, the memories may be a little blurry now, but it's my hope that when all the elements are recreated you can be transported right back to 'when going down the shop' was an experience of pure joy."

This isn't Preston's first venture into nostalgia. In 2015, he revisited Back to the Future via his artwork Bootleg to the Future, which featured a life-sized replica of a DeLorean.

Milk Bar will be at Melbourne's RVCA Corner Gallery, 82 Stanley Street, Collingwood. The exhibition runs from December 1-10.