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Emily Young: Stone carver and environmental artist

On turning a 3.5 tonne block of stone into her latest work of art, and taking her sculptures on to the front line of environmental activism.

Artists and architects have for centuries been drawn to the stone in the hills of southern Tuscany. It's the home of Carrara marble and the quarry where Michelangelo found the stone for his work. Now it's home to Emily Young – acclaimed as Britain's greatest living stone carver. Her sculptures are collected and displayed around the world, but as a passionate conservationist she also takes her work on to the front line of environmental activism; using sculptures to protect green spaces and take on gangs fishing illegally off the coast of Italy.

Over the course of 4 months In the Studio follows Emily Young as she turns a 3 and a half tonne block of stone into her latest work of art. It becomes a race against time as the days shorten, the light closes in and the deadline looms for Britain to leave the European Union. This is an intimate portrait of an artist for whom the creative process is meditative and usually very private.

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30 minutes

Podcast