Gavin Bradstreet’s practice is shaped by his studies in Fine Art at the National Art School and fifteen years working in fashion — different yet deeply interconnected worlds. His sculptural forms draw on processes familiar to both disciplines: sourcing materials, patternmaking, sewing, and construction. At the heart of his work lies a fascination with the curious beauty of repurposed materials, transforming what is overlooked or disregarded into forms that prompt pause, reconsideration, and desire.
Circle Jerk investigates the human form through reduction and repetition. Discarded Tyvek — typically used to shield valuable artworks — is reimagined as the skin of the artwork itself. Bearing traces of use, memory, and desire, the material becomes both fetishized and estranged, a surface that simultaneously allures and unsettles.
The title references both self-gratification and its figurative counterpart, the echo chamber. Through a queer lens, the work reflects on how identities are staged, how belonging and exclusion shift, and how power inscribes itself onto matter and flesh. This dynamic is amplified by the plinth, inverted or upheld, echoing Duchamp’s provocation: “By reversing the pedestal, one reverses the hierarchy of value.” By embracing this reversal, Bradstreet asks viewers to consider not only what is elevated, but also what is cast down, discarded, or made abject in the processes of desire and cultural value.
His practice brings together fine art and fashion, material and memory, body and object, continually questioning how value is assigned, who it serves, and what it leaves behind.
Image credit: Gavin Bradstreet, Circle Jerk 2025, mixed media, dimensions variable
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