Le Jardin hospitalier documents Jyll Bradley's eponymous site-specific artwork produced in April 2015 under the auspices of the Fondation de France's New Patrons program, at Hospital Roger Salengro in Lille, France. The artist has transformed a 100m long, window-less corridor into an immersive installation—a promenade—with black-lit photographs, literary texts and tactile sculptural elements
Jyll Bradley has proposed a project inspired by botanical gardens, taking into account Lille's rich botanical history and the medicinal context. Lille had one of the first French botanical gardens in the early 17th century. It currently hosts three gardens (Jardin des Plantes, jardin de la Faculté de Pharmacie and jardin de la Faculté Libre de Médecine) two of which are closely linked to medecine. The functions of botanical gardens, places for walking, learning and relaxing, are transposed to the corridor. The artistic central element is photography, with innovative renders. Several back-lit images featuring Lille botanical gardens, taken at different seasons, give a new rhythm to the corridor. Images act as windows. Inspiring quotes from French literature—part gardening, part philosophy—interplay with the images. A “Knowledge Centre” at the entrance to the corridor provides welcome seating for rest, gathering and learning. Here visitors will also find computer termini enabling them to discover information about Lille's botanical history and resources (e.g images of beautiful old botanical books or short films) as well as information on drugs and plants. The artist and designers also designed specific signage and seating.
British artist Jyll Bradley (born 1966 in Folkestone, UK, lives and works in London) attended Goldsmiths, University of London and the Slade School of Art. Bradley's installations, drawings, and light box works express a deeply personal engagement with identity and place. Light is an important protagonist in her practice, and she talks of using it to “bring things into the present”. Bradley's work increasingly engages with architecture and site. Through unlikely pairings of materials and traditions, she creates dynamic spaces which invite reflection upon dualities at the core of self and modern life. Bradley has long been interested in the human connection to plants and the structures that are built to capture light for green growth.
