The Graduates 2011: Pat Bradbury

To kick off The Graduates 2011, our annual feature to pinpoint the most exciting talent emerging from UK universities, we have selected Pat Bradbury. Pat, who studied illustration at the University of Brighton but hails from the excellent sounding Tring, pleased us no end with the bold graphics and happy humour to his work. Making use of this strong visual language on nonsensical, poetic posters and unexpected characters that more often then not have detachable eyes. You can also see his work on show this week which is nice…

Citing stand-up and sketch shows as references explains a lot and, in terms of the making, Pat tells us that he is fundamentally process led and enjoys “feeding various mediums through photocopiers, scanners and computers until a solution is reached. I’ve also recently become interested in more experimental imagery and enjoy the challenge in tying together abstraction with solid concepts and ideas.”

If your portfolio was on fire, and you could only save one piece, which would you choose, and why?

Probably new shapes as I intend to implement them within the primary education system. 

If you could collaborate with another artist/designer to make a piece of work, who would you work with and what would you make?

Vic Reeves, David Hockney and Paul Smith. I’d have to discuss the project them them a bit but I would like to involve a young inner city marching band and trampolines. 

What was your finest moment at art school?

A lot to choose from! Probably visiting Mick Wiggins’ studio in San Francisco. After giving us an in-depth talk about his practice he took our whole group out for pizza, what a guy. 

We believe it was the Jonas brothers who once said “we’re the kids of the future.” How, if at all, do you relate to that?

The fact that two separate people gave me a pipe for my twenty second birthday suggests that my childhood is well and truly behind me.

Can you give us ONE prediction about you and your work for the next year?

I predict that my work will get bigger and I will have caught up on three years worth of books and films which I missed while doing my degree.