The Raw Voice of Joe Machine: A Life Forged in Struggle and Art Joseph Stokes, more widely known as Joe Machine, is an artist whose work has consistently challenged conventions and provoked strong reactions. Born in Chatham, United Kingdom, in 1973, into a Romany background on the Isle of Sheppey, his life began with a series of difficult experiences that profoundly shaped his artistic vision. These early struggles – including time spent in approved schools and young offender institutions – fueled a desire to create art as an outlet for past mistakes and a means of asserting agency over a pe…