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Back To The Future Art Exhibit To Open In Melbourne

Back To The Future Art Exhibit Brings Wooden DeLorean To Melbourne
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The world is going Back To The Future mad as the date Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel to in the future -- October 21, 2015 -- hurtles toward us. It's 30 years since the release of the original movie and Melbourne artist Callum Preston, almost the same age as the movie franchise, is marking the milestone with an exhibition celebrating the franchise.

“I’ve always been a fan, being a child of the 80s; I was born in 1984 [a year before the original film was released],” Preston told The Huffington Post Australia.

“I’ve done a few Back To The Future themed pieces over the years. I was always finding an excuse to do one.”

He said he originally planned to curate a group exhibit around the October 21 date, but scrapped it in favour of a solo show.

“From this point, the films become history, not the future or science fiction or fantasy,” he said.

“When I was a kid, movies like this really changed the way I looked at the world and have influenced the work I do. I can’t remember a time when the film wasn’t around. It’s always been in my psyche.”

Preston in his younger days, next to a DeLorean

Preston works across the spectrum of visual arts, from painting to illustration, signwriting to graphic design and woodwork, regularly contributing artwork for leading bands and brands.

The exhibition, titled ‘Bootleg To The Future,’ sees Preston reinterpreting both major and minor moments from the movie series -- most notably, a life-size wooden DeLorean car made from recycled wood and electronics, but also enamel pins with Hill Valley logos, portraits, prints and works on glass.

“There’s phrases from the film, some snippets of background objects or signage. I wanted it all to be of varying sizes and textures, to have the feel of a group show,” he said.

The DeLorean, of course, is the star centrepiece of the exhibition.

“I knew I’d never have a real DeLorean but I didn’t want one that was perfect. I wanted my own take, so I made this Peter Pan’s lost boys treehouse mixed with Mad Max version of the car,” he said.

“It’s my interpretation with found objects, electronics from old electronics and e-waste, old floorboards, plywood hoardings from building sites. It’s designed for people to climb in and out of, take photos.”

Bootleg To The Future opens on -- when else? -- October 21, at the Hogan Gallery in Collingwood, Melbourne and runs for a week. See more of Preston's work here.

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