Welcome to no. 71 in our series Poignant Pics, where our editor, Diana Nicholette Jeon, writes about two images from Todd Bradley.

“Botanists call it an invasive species. But aren't we all? “— Teju Cole

While beauty for beauty's sake is something I appreciate, it is rarely the type of work I actively seek. I gravitate to work about topical issues, identity, or inner and personal lives. But the collective mental landscape was quite bleak as the pandemic raged on (and that is without adding any American politics into the mix!) It got me looking for some visual relief. 

I saw these two images from Todd Bradley on both Instagram and Twitter. They belong to a series he titled "From Here: Not From Here." I was attracted to them by his delicious use of color. "Floral tropes, but not cliches," I thought; "they are gorgeous but also unique and different. They almost seem anthropomorphized." Additionally, their uniqueness made them 'fun.' In times of death and doom, fun is often hard to find. But I never read Bradley's captions at the time; I just saw the beauty. So I didn't realize they were more than 'fun" floral images until I started to write this. 

Bradley began this project during the pandemic. As he walked his dogs, he would pick flowers to photograph during confinement. He needed something beautiful to focus on during the pandemic gloom, similar to what my initial thoughts surmised. But it blossomed into something much more profound. 

His imagery combines native and non-native botanicals to explore their inter-relationship, the passage of time, and the decay that comes with it. But the work also examines the decline that non-native plants cause. Both images were taken on a medium format camera using expired 6x6 film. The Migrants consist of eucalyptus pod and sago palm; The Native is Mexican bird of paradise, eucalyptus pod, and sago palm.

Bradley told me, "While researching and cataloging the floral names, I discovered that almost none of the flowers I picked in my neighborhood were originally from the Southern California region. I was shocked to learn that over 1,000 non-native plants have established roots in California. In many regions here, they have overtaken native plants by over 50 percent."

In doing research after starting down this path, Bradley learned that after the Spanish invasion of what is now the state of California, explorers planted non-native species of vegetation. These new species eventually were regarded as exotic and exciting. They thrived in the sunny climate and provided excellent yields when given fertilizer. Industry marketed this as being unique—nay, better—ways of gardening and growing crops. But eventually, the non-native crops overran the growth of native species. And the chemicals needed to foster the imported species are detrimental to the environment and the planet. The soil has become dependent on these chemicals and is otherwise now baron.

Bradley continued, "While most Californians welcome diversity in forms of race and ethnicity, bio-diversity is a different matter. Most California residents, let alone the world, do not even know that they contribute to the threat of global food security and biodiversity loss. We should all be asking at our grocer and garden nurseries, ‘Where is the native area of this plant?’ If it is not from where you live, do not buy it. Remember supply and demand; if we demand local and native, that is what they will supply. On a larger scale, we can ask county supervisors to plant native plants and trees when replanting existing greenery or when new parks go in."

I find Bradley's use of the beauty conceit to get his viewer to look deeply at troubling issues compelling, most likely because it is something I do myself. It's inherent to my work process. I found it an excellent way to entice someone to consider something they might not look at or think about if I fed it to them more didactically.

I hope you enjoy this work as much as I do. In "From Here: Not From Here," Bradley may have created one of the most beautiful protest projects I have ever seen. Bravo, Todd! I look forward to seeing what you do in the future. I find your work ever-changing and always intriguing.

[clicking on an image will bring up a lightbox]

The Native

The Migrants

Artist Bio

Todd Bradley (1970, Detroit, USA) is a gay, color blind, photographer residing in San Diego, California. Todd’s work has shown in solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide, including The Louvre, Paris, Museum of Fine Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and The Griffin Museum of Photography, Boston. His portfolios have been published in print magazines around the world and his work has been used in a public art installation in Washington State. Todd is one of the founding members of the renowned Snow Creek Collaborative in San Diego. He often works with a macro lens shooting dioramas and floras, also shooting alternative portraiture, architecture, and uses digital manipulation to tell his stories. Todd constructs small still life tableaus and miniature scale model dioramas that become his narrative. Todd’s aesthetic focuses on detailed features, color (even though he’s color-blind) to demonstrate new perspectives to ordinary objects in still time. Todd recently has brought analog medium and large format film photography back into his art.

More of his work can be found here: www.MrToddBradley.com

Author Bio

Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.