Coloured Plexiglass (various colours); mirror, American ash wood.
168cm (h) x 6cm (d) x 11cm (w)
The height of the work is the height of the artist.
These new wall-mounted sculptures are made of two simple, mirrored elements and use my signature ‘graft’ of materials: coloured plexiglass, mirror and wood. The title Hot Frame refers to the horticultural structures that are used to nurture and bring forth tender plants. The works are highly reactive and the ’empty’ space between the two elements becomes filled with colour through the action of light. The works are designed to be hung either tightly together or further apart and have connotations of threshold spaces such as window, door or picture frames.
15 November to 13 December
Curated by Debbie Meniru
In Hot Frame, Jyll Bradley returns to her 1980’s teenage bedroom, exploring queer identity, memory and her relationship to nature through photography and sculpture. Moving between light and shadow, interior and exterior, the exhibition reflects her long-standing interest in thresholds – both physical and emotional. Newly unveiled fluorescent sculptures –Hot Frames – appear alongside rediscovered self-portraits, creating portals that hover between visibility and invisibility, vulnerability and empowerment. The show also includes site specific flower arrangements made from foliage and blooms gathered by Bradley on her walks around Istanbul. These are presented as both an homage to the city and as ‘offerings’ to the photographic images of her much younger self.
I am delighted to be presenting my first solo show in Istanbul at Pi Artworks. Curated by Debbie Meniru.
JJ Charlesworth has reviewed my show at The Box for Art Review!
artreview.com/jyll-bradley-running-and-returning-the-box-plymouth
Casa Cipriani, New York, (4-7 September 2025)
Jyll Bradley’s presentation for Independent 20th Century, comprised photographs, drawings and sculptures on a bespoke wallpaper. The whole is a new iteration of a travelling installation – evoking the artist’s childhood bedroom – this time including colour images in artist designed frames of signature green plexiglass, as well as drawings on carbon paper. The presentation paired images originated in the 20th century – self-portraits taken 35 years ago in the artist’s bedroom and not shown at the time – with recent sculptures echoing the artist’s height. The work was selected by the Independent curatorial team for the fair because of the new narratives presented vis a vis queer representation from the late 1980’s as well as bringing to light a broader story of artists working in the early days of the YBA (Young British Artist) cohort.
Bradley’s presentation was amongst Artnet’s top picks for International Artists at the fair and a highlight booth for White Hot Magazine:
news.artnet.com/market/independent-20th-century-2025
whitehotmagazine.com/articles/2025-highlights-from-art-fairs
I am very excited to be presenting a solo booth of my work with Pi Artworks at Independent 20th Century.
independenthq.com/galleries/pi-artworks
I am delighted to have featured as ‘Spotlight’ on The Wick Culture.
thewickculture.com/spotlight-jyll-bradley/
I was interviewed by Aesthetica on Running and Returning, my solo show at The Box.
aestheticamagazine.com/rediscovering-the-self/
Paul Carey-Kent has reviewed my survey show at The Box Plymouth!
artlyst.com/reviews/jyll-bradley-running-returning-box-plymouth-paul-carey-kent/
Film, 17 mins.
A film by Jyll Bradley.
Written, Directed and Produced by Jyll Bradley
Music composed by Linda Buckley
Sound design by Jonquil Panting
Edited by Will Martin
Filmed by Emma Dalesman
Sound Recording by Adam Gutch
Voices – M.R.: Claire Rushbrook; J: Jyll Bradley
Filmed with kind permission of the Trustees of Kew.
Generously supported by David Maclean
The Meeting is the second in Jyll Bradley’s trilogy of films exploring her experience of childhood adoption. Whilst her first film M.R. (2021) explored the search for her birth mother in 1991, The Meeting (2025) unpacks their first meeting in 1992 in the Palm House, Kew Gardens, the location Bradley chose for this – and where the film is shot.
As with M.R., The Meeting uses ideas of light, structure and transparency to express the feeling of being ‘inside and outside’ at the same time, which is how Bradley describes her adoption experience. Both films intersect this with queerness and the youthful forming of creative identity. The Meeting paints a portrait of the reunion of birth mother and daughter and of the vast glasshouse which holds their story. Through the lush Eden-like tropical vegetation and sweeping arches two voices emerge revealing a story of loss, memory and societal pressure. The only figures seen are the gardeners in the background, silent witnesses to the event, quietly tending the space.