Joshua Richard Compston (1 June 1970 – 5 March 1996) was a London curator whose company Factual Nonsense was closely associated with the emergence of the Young British Artists (YBAs).
At the Courtauld he soon became frustrated that the academic lecturing staff were taking insufficient interest in the work of living artists, and that as a result students were ignorant of major figures in 20th century art.
Past exhibitors in the Collection/Biennial include Mel Bochner, Damien Hirst, Howard Hodgkin, Michael Landy, Del LaGrace Volcano, Gilbert and George, Genesis P-Orridge and Martha Rosler.
European Dadaist manifestos, 20th century propaganda and the Arts and Crafts Movement were influences in his creation of the Factual Nonsense brand and concept of social philosophy.
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.
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.