Jyll Bradley: Life and Influences

How do family stories shape us, and how can archives help tell those stories? When artist Jyll Bradley started planning her 'Running and Returning' exhibition with The Box she had no idea she would find records about her family in the collections. Although brought up in rural Kent, Bradley's adoptive family have strong links with Plymouth and she spent many summers in the South West as a child. This series of display cases in our Active Archives gallery combines archival records with personal items and memories, as Bradley explores how her childhood experiences have influenced her identity and practice, and provides insights into some of her ancestors, including her grandfather Leonard Turpin Nicholls (1893-1984), who lived in Plymouth and was a Fire Warden during World War II when the city was heavily bombed.