Landscape with Flowers (2005)
Arnolfini, Bristol, UK
In 2005 Bradley was commissioned to create a new work to mark the re-opening of Arnolfini, Bristol, after extensive renovations. Over several months she explored the city through interactions with its myriad gardening and flower-arranging groups (both amateur and municipal), which together make an important contribution to Bristol’s ‘green’, counter-cultural reputation.
Landscape with Flowers comprised a sculptural, back-lit panorama of flowers and plants that evolved through a series of ‘editions’, each of which were created in the Arnolfini’s gallery space in collaboration with the members of a different locally based horticultural group. The work explored the tension between the group and the individual: from a distance the piece appeared to be a seamless whole, yet up close it revealed itself to be a tapestry of great complexity, mirroring the wider city beyond the gallery walls. With the flowers dying back over five days and then being refreshed a number of times, Landscape with Flowers created a space that oscillated between gregarious activity during installation and the stillness of completion.
Landscape with Flowers was part of the wider opening group exhibition This Storm Is What We Call Progress. Artists: Julie Mehretu, Martin Boyce, Matthew Buckingham, Lee Mingwei, JMW Turner, Haluk Akakce.