At The Table, On The Menu

Joe Preston is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practise involves film, photography, and installation.
His work work combines elements of contemporary art, media and cinema. He’s showed work in galleries, film festivals and magazines.
He believes that the language of traditional documentary is restrictive and prone to cliché but could be reinvigorated by approaching stories as an artist. By combining elements of journalism and cinema an audience can engage with a story on a more immersive and emotional level.
His previous work ‘The Victory Arch’ was the result of four years of research and told the story of a British engineer who built Saddam Hussein’s most famous statue a few miles outside of London. The project resulted in two pieces: a film installation (which was exhibited at the Bergen Kunsthall) and a 13 minute narrative short film currently in it’s final edit stage. The installation version was selected as part of the Bury Museum of Art’s ‘The Next Thing’ festival.
In 2017 his work was screened at the North West Film Art Festival. In 2019 he curated the group exhibition ‘Sources’ at Castlefield Gallery, featuring work by artists undertaking diverse approaches to storytelling with photography, video and sculpture. At a time when ‘post-truth’,‘fake news’ are household phrases, this outward-looking exhibition made a case for artists to play a greater role documenting and sharing the stories of our complex world.
He has exhibited in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Norway and Ireland.