gallery inaugural exhibition. As well as working with many of the artists of the YBA movement, including Gavin Turk, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Angus Fairhurst and Damien Hirst, Compston's main collaborator was the printer Thomas Shaw, with whom he created numerous Factual Nonsense posters, prints and other printed matter. Compston organised events in Shoreditch as a part of his deliberate vision: to shape an artistic community and to create an urban regeneration, both of which became his legacy. The events included two summer fetes (A Fete Worse Than Death), and a picnic in Hoxton Square (The Hanging Picnic). Compston's lasting legacy to Shoreditch was celebrated by a revival of A Fete Worse Than Death in 2014. His archive is held by the Tate Gallery. Death In 1996, at the age of 25, Compston died as the result of taking ether at his gallery in Charlotte Road, which was also his home. His coffin was painted with a William Morris pattern by Gary Hume and Gavin Turk. His funeral was attended by several hundred mourners including leading figures of the London art scene. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. Compston's tomb, on which he is depicted laid out on his little Thames boat, was carved from Portland stone by the artist and cartoonist Zebedee Helm. Published biographies Jeremy Cooper - No Fun Without U: The Art of Factual Nonsense, 2000 Darren Coffield - Factual Nonsense: The Art and Death of Joshua Compston, 2013 References 1970 births 1996 deaths Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art British art curators Drug-related deaths in England