Jyll Bradley

Monday Guest Lectures –

Jyll Bradley – I feel really privileged to have encountered the work of Jyll Bradley through the ‘Monday Guest Lectures’ slot. Here is a short extract from her about page on her Jyll Bradley website:

About Jyll Bradley

“Born Folkestone, UK, 1966. Lives and works in London.

Jyll Bradley makes installations, films, drawings and sculptures. Her work first emerged in the late 1980’s within a cohort of artists interested in combining the formal vigour of Minimalism with ideas of identity and place. Light has been a constant protagonist in her practice, from her early photographic light-box installations to her work with fluorescent plexiglas. Her work often pairs organic and industrial materials, reflecting a desire to bring together different aspects of self – for instance her rural childhood and urban adulthood.

Bradley’s work frequently engages with site and the creation of new spaces. Her acclaimed public realm commissions – including Green/Light (for M.R.) for The Folkestone Triennial and Dutch/Light for Turner Contemporary – reference generative structures such as hop gardens and glasshouses, expressing what she sees as the practical, spiritual and emotional work involved in growing a sense of self, place or community. Bradley’s sculptures have increasingly become sites of activity such as dance and performance. Recently this has further developed through the creation of new films such as M.R. (2021) and Woman Holding a Balance (2021) which explore the works’ ‘world’ and ecology. These innovations reflect Bradley’s interest in sculpture as a potent gathering place of people and ideas.

Jyll Bradley’s projects for 2022 include The Hop commissioned by The Hayward Gallery, London, UK and Threshold, a project for Kaunas, European Capital of Culture, Lithuania. She studied at Goldsmith’s College (1985-88) and The Slade (1991-3) and has exhibited extensively in the UK and internationally including: The Fruitmarket Gallery (2021-2), Sculpture in the City (2020, 2019, 2018); New Art Centre, Roche Court (2017); The Drawing Room Biennial, London (2021, 2019, 2017, 2015); The National Library of Australia (2013); the Bluecoat, Liverpool (2011); Newlyn Art Gallery (The Exchange), Penzance (2010); the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2008); Arnolfini, Bristol (2005); Museo De Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia (2004); Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou, China (2004); The British Art Show, Hayward Gallery, London (1990), Riverside Studios, London (1988).

Bradley’s work is held in numerous national and international private and public collections including the Government Art Collection, UK; Folkestone Art Works, UK (long terms loan), the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; the National Library of Australia and Canberra Museum and Art Gallery”. Source: Jyll Bradley Website.

Jyll’s Journey

It was really interesting hearing about Jyll’s journey and there were so many ‘takeaways’ from her talk that I will outline below. One of Jyll’s most treasured pieces is a set of three images of a greenhouse where she spent some time when she was younger. At that point in time she was living in a rural environment and she had a love of natural light. She produced her greenhouse series as a response to the natural light that she was encountering. At the time she hadn’t really realised how pivotal this work would be in her journey.

In contrast to this she found herself ‘subsumed’ by illuminated light during her time at college in London which was completely opposite to the natural light that she had originally enjoyed in her more rural home environment. Her degree show in 1988 very much reflected this. She discovered light boxes and was intrigued by images that were artificially back lit. She also felt that minimalism could be a space to explore and identity was also important to her.

During her talk she mentioned ‘The Flaneur’ – in fact she likened herself to a female flaneur experiencing the city in her own way. She also noted how small choices can determine our course in life. She said that it was ‘the incidental choices that change our lives’. The light box for her had become a sculptural entity.

What I also found interesting is that although she is very successful, there were people who still criticised her work for not being feminist or queer enough, even though she is a lesbian herself. I believe that Henri Kalama – mentioned something similar in his talk regarding a similar criticism of his work for not being ‘black enough’.

Carrying on from her earlier work she then moved into writing award winning dramas and work in radio. She wrote a very rude lesbian drama set in a fish market. This piece was aired on the radio which she thought was quite an achievement given the nature of its content.

Moving forward again Jyll explained how she wanted to reconnect with plants and her childhood. She built a hot garden and she continued her search for light. At one point she mentioned that she saw her work as a form of ‘self portrait’ – a ‘giant matrix’. Interestingly her ‘Green Light’ work acts as a giant sundial being 22m square. Even more interesting is that the work lights up at night. Therefore, not only was it a functional sundial during the day, it was both an illuminated sculpture and safety mechanism for people who would have normally walked home in the dark.

Initially her work was only intended to stay for 3 months but in reality it stayed for 10 years. It also drew attention to its space as houses are now planned to replace it. It was a durable sculpture with only the occasional need to re-string it. She has also invited people to make films about her artworks and dance performances have also happened around them.

Jyll, has recently made a film about her birth mother called MR, the initials she shared with her birth mother. Not only is Jyll adopted she is also a lesbian. listening to Jyll’s talk, I personally think that her life has very much helped to shape her work and has been a powerful influence on it. I absolutely loved the images of Jyll’s work! I feel this is a person who has worked incredibly hard to produce some amazing public installations! My main takeaway from Jyll’s talk is that diversity can be a massive strength upon which to draw inspiration. Follow your dreams and think about light and space. Jyll remarked that she didn’t want to put an object in space, instead she wanted to use objects to create space. Alex spoke during the talk about a potential visit to Jyll’s studio – I’d definitely love to go!