Jo Bradford’s photography addresses the relationship between how we view and experience the intangible in an age increasingly defined by technology. Bradford enjoys exploring the vast, elemental landscape around her sustainable off-grid home on Dartmoor in Devon. She has committed several decades to the growing of plants specifically employed for the phytoremediation of her darkroom chemistry. Bradford began recycling her process silver in the cause of working towards a sustainable practice in 2009, read more about this here and buy a book with Bradford’s essay about this here
Bradford makes long term photographic works in traditional documentary style and also makes experimental photographic artworks in her colour darkroom. She is interested in exploring alternative and historical processes, loves working with textiles and often adds weaving and stitching to her photographs. She also uses printmaking such as paper lithography and intaglio as part of her photographic production process.
Bradford’s abstract colour darkroom work has a visual simplicity that belies the complex process of creation. In her daily ventures into the art and science of trapping coloured light directly on paper, she is striving for a visual and physical means of experiencing the rich intensity of prismatic colour and keeping it for posterity. To this end, another passion lies in perfecting working methods that allow her to perfectly distil the purity and luminosity of light as she records it on paper during fleeting exposures made in the pitch-black blind space of her darkroom. This is achieved in the act of analogue darkroom processing with a very particular set of chemical formulae and light sensitive emulsions; tweaked and adjusted continuously in over 2 decades of research and practice in her colour laboratory.
Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jo was raised in Southern Africa, returning to the UK in her teens to finish school in Wales. Green Island Studios is Jo’s colour darkroom and studio space. Bradford received her Masters Degree (Distinction) in Photography: Critical Practice from Falmouth University in 2004. From October 2010 to June 2011, she was the Artist In Residence (AA2A) at Plymouth College of Art. Since her first photo show in 2000, Jo’s work has been regularly exhibited and collected internationally. She is the CourseLeader for the BA (Hons.) Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University and she has published 4 books about photography. Bradford is represented by Galerie Miranda (Paris), Eyestorm Gallery (International) and Gina Cross Projects (London)
Find me here….
- GRANTS AND AWARDS -
2023 - Arts Council England - Project Funding Award.
2016 - Arts Council England - Grants for the Arts Award.
2015 - DNPA 'Your Dartmoor Fund' Grant - Project Funding Award.
2010 - AA2A Arts Council England - Artist in Residence - Plymouth College of Art.
2006 - Unlocking Cornish Potential - Graduate Placement Award.
2004 - Fenton Arts Trust Grant - Project Funding Award.
2003 - Arts Council England - Creative Development Award.
2003 - West Midlands Arts - Funding Award.
2002 - Arts Council England - Creative Development Award.
2002 - West Midlands Arts - Funding Award.
