IN CONVERSATION - Kate Bradbury

London based self-taught artist Kate Bradbury makes up part seven of my ‘In Conversation’ series with artists I support through my Gallery. Kate is known for her intricate black and white drawings, alongside her sculptural works often made from things she has found on the streets of London. Read on to hear more about what she has been up to during lockdown and the new films she has been creating …

Kate at Monochromatic Minds next to her work on the left of the photograph. Photo: Andrew Hood

Do you think your practice has changed because of covid-19 and what have you been doing to keep yourself busy?
I don’t think my practice has changed, but I have been doing more than I did before as I haven’t had any paid employment. I have been drawing everyday and making things from found objects that I already have around my house. I have not been picking up anything to use from the streets as usual.

I don’t think my work has been influenced by what’s going on at the moment, but I think that might come later – it is in my mind all the time. I have made a few films on my phone and my camera, so that is a new experimentation that I’ve tried. Apart from that things are the same really. Obviously I’ve had more time to think about my work and experiment with things, but from the results I don't think much has changed.

All the neighbours are in all the time, so I can’t make much noise with my power tools, so that’s been quite restrictive in my sculptural work.

I have taken this question from the talkart podcast that I like listening to… have you learnt any new skills during lockdown?
Just the new films that I mentioned above, which I am quite excited about. But my phone and computer have been on the blink this week, so I’ve had to stop this. The film process was quite time consuming and it needed a lot of patience, which I did have until things stopped working properly.

Is there anything that you are currently missing doing that you are not able to because of lockdown?
I miss my mom and she’s quite old now. And I am missing picking bits of rubbish up off the street and going to car boots to find treasures there. I am not really missing work, but I am missing getting out of the house.

You often find objects on the streets that you incorporate into your sculptural works – have you found there are less things about at present or more or different items to normal?
Everyone seemed to have a big clear out in the first week, but I’ve not really seen things around since then, as streets of London have been very clean in comparison to normal. I haven’t even found interesting bits of wood or anything!

Can you tell me about featuring in the pop-up exhibition ‘Monochromatic Minds’ earlier this year and what that experience was like?
It was a fantastic show that had lots of really interesting stuff to look at and I could make lots of repeat visits to go back and look at the work. There was a fascinating variety of techniques and inspiration that people seemed to have. It was a very intense exhibition and this might have been because of the use of black and white only. The detail in people’s work and each individual piece had real power to it and intensity. It was so good to be a part of it. It is always nice to exhibit and to be exhibited alongside artists that I myself like too. I just wish it could have gone on longer.

Always the Wood, Never the Trees, 2020

From your perspective as an artist, what more could galleries and museums do to support artists at present?
I loved that Grayson Perry art programme recently on TV and it was very down to earth. Grayson made art very accessible to people and he was not afraid to admit he was personally influenced by amateur artists. Maybe other galleries and museums should do something similar to make art more accessible.

Finally, what can we expect from you next?
I have done a lot more drawing and I have been trying to make a big sculpture, but it’s not really working right now, so I’ve stopped it. I have made a few small sculptures and small figures from wood that I have had lying around - so more of the same as what I normally do really. I now have lots of boxes/drawers to fill with sculptures though. I am just planning to just keep going!

I was also due to feature on Jennifer’s booth at Drawing Now Paris, but this is now postponed until March 2021.