14/07/2026
Jyll Bradley is in East of the Aldgate Pump, the anchor exhibition of Whitechapel Gallery’s inaugural Backyard Biennial: East
Bradley presents Self Portrait, jumper (1987–2024): paired photographic prints drawn from a single original negative, held in her signature live-edge fluorescent Plexiglas frames. A work from the Collection of Sir Elton John & David Furnish.
It’s a return to her early self-portraiture through the material language that has defined her practice since the 1980s — what she calls “q***ring minimalism.” Light, identity, place, held together.
East of the Aldgate Pump brings together twelve artists. The biennial spans 40+ venues across East London, marking the gallery’s 125th anniversary with exhibitions, installations, performances and residencies on migration, kinship and community.
📍 Whitechapel Gallery, 77–82 Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX
15 July – 6 September 2026 · Free
whitechapelgallery_editions New Edition Just Launched: Jyll Bradley has created ‘Miniature Self-Portrait, 1987-2026’, 2026, exclusively for Whitechapel Gallery on the occasion of the Whitechapel Gallery exhibition ‘East of the Aldgate Pump’, part of the inaugural Backyard Biennial (15 Jul – 6 Sep 2026).
‘Miniature Self-Portrait, 1987-2026’, 2026
Digital pigment, from original negative, coloured Plexiglas
Size: 9.6 x 8.8 x 3.5 cm
Edition of 15, accompanied by a signed and numbered certificate
Launch price: £450
Whitechapel Gallery Members’ price: £405
Three years ago, Bradley re-discovered a set of self-portrait photographs, taken in her bedroom nearly 40 years ago when she was a young art student exploring her q***r identity. These images were not shown at the time, and for Bradley they are both vulnerable and playful. Through the arc of time, the photographs encapsulate an essence of who she was – and still is.
This exclusive edition for Whitechapel Gallery is inspired by historic miniature portrait paintings, intimate works that were often created as keepsakes for loved ones. Here, Bradley’s self-portrait is framed with green-fluorescent Plexiglas, a material often used in her larger sculptures. In doing so, she brings togeth