I'm using nostalgia as a way to really jump out at people and remind them of a time in their life. But rather than thinking of it through a sad lens, I'm actually really hoping that seeing these things brings them back that feeling of joy. Hi, my name is Callum Preston. I'm an artist and designer based in Fitzroy, and I'm here at Town Hall Gallery installing my latest work Sign of the Times. So the exhibition here at Town Hall Gallery is called Dish, and it's exploring the theme of food So Alana, who curated the show, has done an amazing job at not only getting different styles of work, but really having a body of work that feels connected. When I was approached about being part of the show, I was super excited be able to come up with a new work of my own that captures my memory of food. and for me, my memory of food is the different takeaway shops and fruit shops and supermarkets and things that we went to when I was a child. These are all original, painted signs by me painted or there’s vinyl cut letters as well, which I made. A lot of the signs that I wanted to source are either still hanging above the shop or they end up in antique stores. There's a value to these things people really love them because they remind them of this childhood period. I also was focused on the idea that these businesses and shops, real fake or otherwise, they're all independent, feeling businesses. It's not necessarily the signs they're looking at It's them thinking about their own local fish and chip shop when they were a kid I can put all of my own story into it as much as I like but anyone who sees it, it's automatically going to open up their own story and they will often share that with me, which is really cool to hear and it's amazing how many people grew up in shops. That's quite a powerful way to transport people in the same way that certain music does that for people or certain smells. It's like, a sign can do that too.