Anna Brass is an artist and filmmaker currently based in Norwich. She works with a wide variety of materials and processes, including 16mm film, carpet tufting and ceramics. Anna did her foundation course at Wimbledon School of Art before studying Fine Art at Newcastle University in 2007-11, and Experimental Film at Kingston University 2011-12.
In 2020 she was a recipient of the Stuart Croft Foundation Moving Image Award, which supported her film Haukebodde Hacoud Hacwod Aukud. Anna developed her ideas for this work whilst in residence at The British School at Rome in 2018-19, where she was the Sainsbury Scholar in Painting and Sculpture. Anna also delivers
workshops at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art, where she’s been an Associate Artist since 2018.
Much of Anna’s work draws on a diverse range of imagery, including illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, cartoons, film posters, playing cards, pilgrim badges, and wall paintings. Her sculptures emerge from a dialogue between these sources and the materials she uses (cardboard, fabric remnants, paint) as well as elements from everyday life.
Ideas take shape through encounters: with people, images, and fragments of text. The source material gets transformed in this process and Anna’s objects and images take on their own agency within complex ensembles.
Unfortunately, due to maintenance work at the Ferens Art Gallery Anna hasn’t been able to work on site. However, we have produced a special film of the artist working and talking about her practice in her studio in Norwich. This film can be viewed below.
Her new work will be presented in the exhibition Canaletto Two paintings, one perspective, which opens on 20 October 2023. Find out more about the Canaletto: Two paintings, one perspective exhibition.
