Elliot Mountain has begun his four-week artist residency at the BCB Studio in Stoke-on-Trent. He is one of four artists awarded a Fresh Talent Prize at the 2025 British Ceramics Biennial – the single largest contemporary ceramics event in the UK. Each prize includes an artist residency at a leading academic and cultural institution.
Selected by a panel of advocates for contemporary art and making, the four prize winners were chosen from BCB’s Fresh exhibition, which celebrates artists at a launch moment in their practice, championing artistic discovery and the courage of new beginnings.
Elliot will use the facilities and resources of the BCB Studio throughout his residency with support from BCB staff. He will be embedded in the studio environment, including weekly Open Studio days available to our studio members. Along with this, he will be giving an artist talk in the studio to share his work with BCB Studio members and staff. His current work has a focus on ceramic furniture, creating a series of stools from mixed materials. He has been incorporating a variety of ceramic techniques, including wheel throwing, hand-building and slip casting alongside digital skills.
“Stoke is great, full of history, helpful people and pottery. I’ve been slowly prepping for this residency for a while, making tests, prototypes, etc., so now I can rush out the gate and spend days just in my work. I really value the time and space to make work and breathe.”
-Elliot Mountain, BCB Studio artist-in-residence
About the Artist
Elliot began working with clay during the later stages of the pandemic. Following mentorship from David Oxley at Harrogate College, he went to university in Glasgow and continued to research and develop his art practice through ceramics. He received a BA in Fine Art – Sculpture & Environmental Art from the Glasgow School of Art in 2024.
Working with clay, cast materials and reclaimed components, Elliot examines cycles of consumption, collapse and survival. His practice centres around material-led sculpture and ceramic installation, responding to the overlooked, discarded elements of urban and industrial life. He draws parallels between human behaviour, urban infrastructure and the built environment, considering how we handle growth, decay and control.
See more of Elliot’s work here.