FRAGILE brings together multi-media works by Andrew Radford, an artist who transforms everyday packaging and overlooked materials into carefully crafted works. Drawing on a long tradition of found-object art, Radford turns material we usually throw away into delicate pieces that ask us to look again at what we discard.
Behind the quiet scale and muted palette of these works sits a sharp political edge. Radford is fascinated—and frustrated—by the excess packaging that fills contemporary life, and his practice reflects both humour and anger at our relationship with waste. His compositions balance form, colour and line with precision, echoing the subtle storytelling and emotional tension found in his extensive archive of sketches.
The exhibition also reflects a more personal philosophy. For Radford, the word “fragile” applies as much to people and relationships as it does to parcels. Influenced by his parents’ economic habits and today’s overwhelming material footprint, these works invite us to reconsider our priorities, our environment and what we value.