About

Bradford’s Trapezium Gallery presents What If I…? When Curiosity Led To Creativity, by Marcela Livingston, an artist whose remarkable body of artwork includes pieces which have become Bradford landmarks.

Originally from Argentina, Marcela has lived in Bradford since 1988 and works from premises on Sunbridge Road.  

Pauline Cooke of Trapezium Gallery says: “Marcela’s passion for creating public art for the benefit of local communities really chimes with our own ethos.  The exhibition will be a unique combination, documenting the processes behind her past work in Bradford with an installation of her current innovations.  It is designed with public interaction at its core.”

Marcela describes herself as a designer-maker, public artist, and sculptor who has over 30 years of experience creating public art with local consultation. Central to her design philosophy is to bring original thinking, good design practice and a common sense approach to the process of translating the client’s ideals and identities for art in public settings. Her focus is to collaborate with people in various professions, trades and communities to create more inspiring and joyful living spaces.

An example of this is her 2006 public artwork located off Manchester Road, Bradford, affectionately known by locals as “The Egg”. Commissioned by Trident, a regeneration partnership for the Living Streets project, Marcela worked with residents and children to design and make a metal fret-worked ovoid sculpture inset with lights. Marcela described her experience: “Some said it wouldn’t last but people love to sit around it and enjoy the changing lights. Fifteen years on, locals say, “Meet you by the Egg!” and since some like dropping their aluminium cans through the holes, the Council treats it as a recycling collection point!”

Her work has spanned a wide range of projects and commissions across the country for both commercial, private and public organizations. Other works in Bradford include signage for the Ripleyville estate, a pair of geometric sculptures for Manchester Road and Newby Primary School and a project with her wrapped Sacpot fabric for trees on Folkestone Street.

The exhibition showcases examples of her various making processes leading to the final artworks, including the original moulds.

Marcela has worked with a wide range of materials: metal, including iron, steel, brass, and bronze, as well as stone, concrete, and wood, including live willow, plastics and resin.  In recent years her designs have also incorporated fibre-optics and LED lighting. Her main interest has always been in marrying materials traditionally used in industry with unexpected manufacturing techniques. In her most recent venture, she has taken to market a new product called Sacpots using a fabric she developed for outdoor use. Made in recyclable water-resistant polypropylene, the multi-coloured resilient containers are designed to be filled with soil and moulded to the shape you like, typically to contain plants.

This exhibition documents and celebrates Marcela’s extraordinary legacy in creating public artwork around the city of Bradford and beyond. It is a different kind of art exhibition, one where you are free to touch the work. Marcela also hopes to meet local people and organizations interested in developing public artworks with her in time for Bradford City of Culture 2025.