Mark is dressed in black and red, a homage to the expansive record wall now at Manning Regional Art Gallery in Taree, as part of his exhibition, 'Off the Record'. He took his outfit inspiration from the album artwork of The Man-Machine by German electronic music band, Kraftwerk.

The record, pictured next to Mark, is one of 700 records featured in the exhibition.

For around 18 months Mark sorted through his 20,000 records to prepare for the exhibition.

"I really enjoyed the process," said Mark.

"I was able to pick up on themes like the extensive use of red, black and white, and that's why I had to devote a whole wall to it."

Themed walls feature throughout the exhibition and the way the exhibition is displayed is an artform in itself - collages of colour, patterns and prints, on a range of weird and wonderful subjects.

Mark said he wanted to inject humour into the exhibition, as it was one of the core themes he liked to collect.

Records that might have gone unnoticed by others, have been handpicked by Mark and are now displayed in a wall titled 'What the...?'.

Standing near the wall, Mark points out the strange imagery he has come across, such as an album titled 'Tubby Boots', and another featuring a lady with three breasts. The humour lies not only in the imagery but the titles of some records - showing the importance of examining each record as an artwork.

Other album artwork themes in the exhibition include, foil artworks which feature the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby, 3D optical illusions with Tame Impala's 2015 release 'Currents' and famous artists' album artworks including Banksy, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol.

Other walls are devoted to other common artwork themes including circles, lips, sirens and divas, and the nude.

Mark commented "...it was hard to find men with their clothes off" compared to women. Some of the album artworks in the exhibition, said Mark, are quite possibly too risque to be released today.

Records in the exhibition date back to 1940s, and reach up to last year.

Mark says records in recent decades have gone through a period of change due to the introduction of the compact disc (CD) in the 1980s.

"It almost killed the records as an art form," said Mark.

"Record companies didn't want to spend money, they wanted to make money."

Mark says the decision to turn to CDs didn't improve the quality of the sound, it just drove more revenue to record companies.

"If they wanted to scale up CD artworks for a record, it would just turn out looking cheap," said Mark.

Mark said a push in the last 10 years from "people in the know" had restored the importance in the record as an item to be collected and coveted.

Even youth, who didn't experience the era of the record, have developed nostalgia for the past music practise.

Mark has enjoyed seeing the improvement of variety and quality of album artworks that have been released in recent years.

"It's really great that thought is being put into it again," said Mark.

Mark's exhibition surpasses the wall, with certain records displayed in glass cabinets with extra memorabilia.

A last minute raid of his collection resulted in the freshest wall of the exhibition - a David Bowie tribute wall.

Manning Regional Art Gallery director Noella Lopez said the addition really completed what she deemed a "unique and interesting" local exhibition.

"It was a very sad time in the gallery when we heard the news of Bowie," said Noella.

"We asked Mark if he had Bowie's albums, and the impromptu tribute was formed."

At the time of writing the gallery was waiting for Bowie's newest release 'Black Star' to complete the timeline of Bowie.

With the myriad of records on display within the exhibition, it is ensured everyone, young and old, will leave with a new, favourite album artwork.

The exhibition will be officially opened at the event, 'Decks on the Deck' at the Manning Regional Art Gallery this Saturday February 6 from 6pm until 11pm.

Mark a former DJ, will take to the decks with the help of friends.

All are welcome to attend. Cost is $15 which includes one drink and canapes.

Book your ticket online now at www.decksonthedeck.eventbrite.com.au

You can see a video of the David Bowie tribute on the Manning River Times website.