I’ve encountered Jyll Bradley’s work several times, though often as large outdoor sculptures – whether at the Folkestone Triennial, outside Hayward Gallery, or part of Sculpture in the City. While there is one large-scale outdoor work in her survey show at The Box in Plymouth, this is the first time I’ve seen her art where the work is predominantly inside. This interplay of the inside and the outside contrasting but also working together is a key theme throughout the show and a topic that keeps cropping up in our conversations with the artist.
The types of work I know her best for are sculptures that allow light to filter through coloured structures so that light outside creates intricate shadows, and the works have a playful element. This style of work comes into sharper focus when I learn that her first studio was in a greenhouse, a structure that provides the sense of protection of being inside while also allowing a view of the outside.
The importance of greenhouses also transcends her art and enters her personal life. Jyll was adopted as a baby, and when she met her birth mother for the first time, she agreed to meet her in the Palm House at Kew Gardens. This moment forms the narrative of a moving film in the exhibition.
Nature is also evident in much of her work, including a sculpture made from the cloches used to protect flowers and photographs from her project reflected on the botanical history associations of the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
Throughout this survey, it’s clear how deeply personal this exhibition is to Jyll, whether that be the words she wrote after the death of fellow artist Angus Fairhurst to the archival elements upstairs in the main museum building. These personal elements provide greater weight to the big installations we know her for, and visitors to this show will come away with a deeper understanding of her practice, allowing them to appreciate her outdoor works fully.
Another personal element is at the centre of the exhibition and is based on Jyll’s bedroom. The slices of colour across the walls and floor reflect the way lights used to shine through them. Her wall-based sculptures blend with self-portrait photographs that show her taking on different identities through changes in clothing and hairstyles. She sees it as both a vulnerable but also joyous space.
This is only a mid-career survey, and she told us she’s only getting started. Whatever comes next, whether inside or outside, there’ll always be light.
Jyll Bradley: Running and Returning at The Box, Plymouth is on until 2nd November. Entrance is free.
All images were photographed by Dom Moore. Copyright and courtesy The Box, Plymouth, Jyll Bradley and Dom Moore.
