JYLL BRADLEY

Born in Folkestone, UK, 1966, Jyll Bradley lives and works in London, making 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.