Spider feet (Pattes d'araignée)

Although he considers his work to be pictorial, Bradford uses neither paintbrush nor paint.

Mark Bradford's monumental collage-decollages are made with everyday materials (paper, rope, metal wire, fabric) collected near his studio in Los Angeles. His works recall those of the French poster artists of the 1960s such as Raymond Hains and Jacques Villeglé, except that his subjects are historical and socio-political. Here, Bradford started out from a map of France to trace Napoleon's conquests, often compared to the rapid scuttling of a spider. The deep, coloured lines express the complexity of geographical boundaries over time.