Bradford’s art draws on the broad cultural and geographic makeup of his neighbourhood in southern California, and it is as influenced by his history as a third-generation merchant there as it is by the global heritage of abstract painting that emerged in the 20th century. The streets and structures in downtown Los Angeles are referenced in Bradford’s movies and map-like, multidimensional paper collages, but they also feature crowd scenes from rallies against immigration now as well as civil rights marches in the 1960s.
In order to respond to the ad hoc networks that evolve inside a city, Bradford converts objects found on the street into wall-sized collages and installations. These networks may include migrant communities, underground markets, or popular appropriations of vacant public space.