MOP

27 July – 21 August 2020

Substrates of Memory investigates the photographic image and its relation to memory through painting and sculptural installation.  Contrary to the popular notion that photographs are mnemonic devices imbued with history, this exhibition examines the failings of the medium, where memory is incapable of adhering to the photograph.  Particularly in the case of found photography, where ties to the photographer are severed, the decontextualised image is rendered mute and instead becomes open for speculative reading. Exploring these ideas through the motif of surface in painting and theatrical façades, Bradford replicates a personal collection of found family photographs in painting onto sheet metal, and situates them upon the mantle place of a fabricated freestanding fireplace reminiscent of a theatrical backdrop.