Rachal Bradley: Interlocutor

Gasworks presents Interlocutor, a major new commission by Nottingham-based artist Rachal Bradley, produced by Gasworks through the Freelands Artist Programme, and developed in partnership with Künstlerhaus Stuttgart.

Interlocutor began from the privacy of the artist’s studio at Gasworks, occupied during her residency from July 3 to September 18, 2017. Spiralling outward from there like an IUD, the project has become more public in stages, from private workshops such as The Erotics of Infrastructure to semi-public and public events, including a conversation between Bradley and her close friend, artist Patricia L Boyd, about Indebted Vision.

Interlocutor continues in 2018 with Bradley’s solo exhibition, also titled Interlocutor, in which natural resin, infused with a bespoke herbal tonic, encases the gallery floor. Dispensed by the artist’s sister, medical herbalist Lucie Bradley, who will lead an ointment preparation workshop on February 3; this tonic has a pending patent and trademark, Infinite Resistance™. Made following short interviews with all Gasworks’ permanent members of staff, in which they were asked questions about how the institution works and their roles within it, it is intended to remedy the organisation’s ailments. Set within the resin in the far gallery is an oversized washing machine-cum-projection booth, inside which a new, non-narrative moving image work is presented.

In addition to these interior works, Bradley has designed a series of purpose-engineered, vacuum-formed units for Gasworks’ exterior walls, the organisation’s most public aspect. Their network of power cables encircle and penetrate the institution’s hidden entrails, including offices, corridors and a private terrace. Like armour, an intrusive prosthesis or an alarm system, these units transform the organisation into a negative ion generator, emitting negative ions throughout the building and surrounding areas.

An ion is a charged atom or molecule, charged because of an imbalance between the number of protons and electrons it contains. In nature, waterfalls and thunderstorms produce negative ions, and they are said to be good for your health, meaning that negative is actually positive. Amping up this inversion and materialising the production of this invisible force—tied up with contemporary wellness as much as Ancient Greek and Japanese philosophy—this intervention operates as a functioning metaphor for how value might be produced by different systems.

Finally, on March 3, Bradley will give a public reading of a new piece of critical writing, epic in form, which addresses altogether different negative energies: the irreversible mutations to human organisation and behaviour after 9/11. This text, which is currently being written, is driven by the artist’s obsession with Mike Piscitelli’s photograph of professional skateboarder Jason Dill standing with arms folded on a New York City street, the Twin Towers billowing smoke in the background at the beginning of a new millennium.

With thanks to additional support from Arts Council England, Cockayne—Grants for the Arts and the London Community Foundation; and Gasworks’s Exhibition Programme Supporter 2017-18, Catherine Petitgas.

Forthcoming Interlocutor Events

Infinite Resistance: A Herbal Medicine Workshop
Saturday, February 3, 2-5pm
During this practical workshop, consulting Medical Herbalist Lucie Bradley will introduce herbal medicine and demonstrate how to prepare and make ointments for medicinal purposes.

Jason Dill: A Public Reading
Saturday, March 3, 5pm
Rachal Bradley reads a new text directly influenced by photographer Mike Piscetelli’s image of professional skateboarder Jason Dill, which captures an alternate version of the 9/11 event.

Residency Events

Spring Open Studios
Open studios: Saturday, March 17, 12–6pm
Artists’ talks: Saturday, March 17, 4pm

Pedro Neves Marques (Portugal), hosted in the Juan Yarur Torres Residency Studio
Patricia Perez Eustaquio (The Philippines), hosted in the Outset Residency Studio
Romy Rüegger (Switzerland), hosted in the Roberts Residency Studio
Osías Yanov (Argentina), hosted in the Sackler Residency Studio

Gasworks’ current international artists in residence open their studios to the public throughout the day on Saturday, March 17. Open studios and artists’ talks offer audiences a unique opportunity to see, hear about and discuss the research and work-in-progress that these artists have been developing during their residencies.

Gasworks’ current residencies are supported by the Gulbenkian Foundation; Mercedes Zobel in partnership with Outset; Pro Helvetia; and Erica Roberts in partnership with URRA and arteBA.