Growing up in Westmeadows, artist Callum Preston remembers days filled with motion, skateboarding with friends, catching buses to school, and painting the world in his mind with big, bold colours.
That restless, joyful energy has now taken shape in his new exhibition Back and Forth, showing at Town Hall Broadmeadows as part of the Hume Winter Lights Festival.
The artist’s memories of travelling to school in Essendon –constantly in transit –shaped the concept.
“I would be getting trains and buses, so the show is called Back and Forth.
“Through the paintings I just try to express a lot of energy with big bold colours.”
Preston describes the exhibition as “a mix of almost road traffic signs and motivational words,” infused with “big bold streaks of that movement and energy” from his youth.
Far from a static gallery experience, Preston is embracing the liveliness of the winter lights event.
“There’s going to be so much action going on outside of the building and there’s music, food. I’m inside but there will be lots of colour and I will also have some lighting and UV black light as well happening in my space,” he said.
With a background in graphic design and sign painting, Preston blends fine art with a vibrant visual language.
“My pieces aren’t necessarily nostalgic in the way they look but the root cause of them is thinking back on when you were a kid and the day seemed so long,” he said.
Preston’s exhibition will be at Town Hall Broadmeadows on Saturday, June 21.
