In recent years, Jo Bradford’s experimentation with unique photographic artworks has seen her using instant film – much like a polaroid. The process here happens in exposure times of just fractions of seconds. In 2022 she has taken a new direction and moved her creative practice out of the darkroom and into her garden.
Canopy was inspired by her increasing desire to spend time in green spaces with her children and their experiences of the Japanese tradition of Forest Bathing, lying under the tree canopy watching sunlight filter through the trees overhead.
Over the course of 12 months, she placed a single sheet of unexposed instant film in the branches of native tree species on each separate visit. Making split-second exposures to the light, she captured leaves fluttering in the breeze above the film. These explorations resulted in this unique record of the traces of the leaf shapes and colours in the fleeting moments of her exposures... all faster than the blink of an eye.
The small unique instant film prints were then gradually built up into this unique collage over the several months of making the exposures. Working as if with an unexpressed jigsaw puzzle that was forming up as the individual puzzle pieces were created one at a time and their position divined within the overall frame of the piece.
Canopy captures the essence of the various trees she worked with. Look for areas of Beech, Oak, Birch, Willow and perhaps you may even discover the Elderberries nestled in the composition.
Medium/Process: Photogram on Instant Film
Edition Size: Unique: 1 of a kind.
Year: 2022
Archival mount in white wood frame with art glass.
Frame size 100cm x 100 cm
Price – framed: £5000
** Pricing includes framing and mounting
* shipping will be invoiced separately.
