Manette Rene Bradford constructs imagined allegorical narratives for the histories and ecologies of specific geographic locations through paintings, sculptures, and wall- sized mixed media works. Her practice combines documentation and direct experience of place with historical, ecological, and folkloristic research. The imagery is fantastical, though rooted in historic realities and the observable world. Humanity, other species, and the land are equally important characters in these narratives, enmeshed and inextricable from one another. Scale is employed as a device to invert hierarchies. Through the act of building this work, Manette repeats and imitates our species’ behavioral impulse to possess, anthropomorphize, and project itself onto the landscape and surrounding ecosystem.
