Fine Art graduate Ellie Brown has her work featured in upcoming major film
27 February 2025
Ellie Brown graduated from Falmouth’s Fine Art BA(Hons) course in 2020, and has since pursued stone carving full-time in her studio in Falmouth.
Now, two of her sculptures have been used in the set design of Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, Black Bag. Due to be released in cinemas on 14 March 2025, the spy thriller features a long list of notable names including Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Harris, Regé-Jean Page and Pierce Brosnan, and follows the story of two intelligence agents.
Outside of her feature in this upcoming film, Ellie has created an impressive collection of sculptures since graduating, and has had her work exhibited in France in addition to taking part in both national and international sculpture projects. She now hosts monthly stone carving workshops for a range of skill levels from her Falmouth studio.
We caught up with Ellie to learn more about how her work ended up in the set design of Black Bag, and how her experience of studying fine art has influenced her current practice.
Your work is featured in the upcoming film Black Bag, how did this collaboration come about, and can you tell us more about this experience?
I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity to have my work in an upcoming movie. The set designers of the film were looking for two head sculptures, and the team at Ad Lib Gallery in London had seen my work previously, and sent me a message straight away. It all happened from there!
I made two heads in limestone and polyphant last spring and sent them up to Pinewood Studios, where they were filming the movie. It was a quick process, and often once they’re sent, you don’t tend to hear anything about them until the movie is close to its release. In December the first trailer was released, but my work was not yet visible. It wasn’t until last week, when Naomie Harris was on the Graham Norton Show to advertise the movie, that I saw my sculptures. A dinner party scene was played as a preview clip, and in the background, you could see one of the two heads displayed!
I have since learned that the two set designers bought each of these heads at the end of production, so they now live on in a private collection.
When did you first discover your interest in creating art and sculptures?
I always knew I wanted to be an artist. From making little sculptures out of wood as a child, to drawing every moment I could, I never stopped creating. It was at Falmouth that I discovered stone carving, and have since been given some amazing opportunities to showcase my work, including a public sculpture in the South of France.
You studied Fine Art BA (Hons) at Falmouth. What did you enjoy most about your time as a student?
Falmouth was not just a wonderful experience, but an incredible place to be. I especially valued the amazing technical team in the workshops I attended. In them, I would have some out-there ideas for sculptures, and the studio technicians were always there to give advice and feedback on my work. Their roles are just as important as the lecturers in supporting and teaching students.
On your website you have listed a series of workshops that you run at your studio in Falmouth. Can you tell us more?
My workshops are focused on teaching various skills within stone carving, from relief carving to 3D sculpture, and I run them monthly throughout the year. I started these workshops as I love to share my skills, and it allows me to work almost full-time in my studio and on my practice. The workshops are posted on my Instagram when the dates are first released, and they’re suitable for both beginners and those with stone carving experience.
What is the story behind the sculptures you create?
My sculptures centre on exploring the female form, and I engage with the stone’s natural qualities to reveal movement, presence, and abstraction. I work with the material’s inherent form, allowing figures to emerge through a balance of control and intuition. By carefully carving the surface, I hope to create a sense of skin with subtle shifts in texture and depth suggesting the softness of the body.
You might also like
Post Production graduate lands exciting role as assistant editor for production company
Graduate Spotlight: Charly Richards, Associate Brand Manager at Jude’s Ice Cream
Dave Tipper on the lasting influence of an MA in Photography
