ATLAM: A Project by Artist and Designer Maria Rosa Thornhill
In this blog series, we invite designers to step behind their finished work and share the stories, decisions, and challenges that shaped it. Rather than presenting projects as polished outcomes, we’re interested in the thinking, experimentation, and moments of uncertainty that happen along the way.
In this post, artist and designer Maria Rosa Thornhill reflects on the process behind ATLAM, a prototyping project on Maltese dreamscapes. In her own words, she describes the methodology she adopted during her residency period in February 2025.
What is ATLAM, and how did the idea come to be?
As a person, I tend to think big. I believe this childlike and curious disposition brings authenticity to my projects. I love my work. I love exploring worlds beyond my immediate reach. I thrive on research, trying new things, and pushing boundaries.
“Think big, then adjust.” This is my philosophy. It can be challenging in the short term, but ultimately, it is deeply fulfilling.
ATLAM is a passion project currently in development. It is a series of works that aim to re-imagine sites in Malta as surreal & immersive dreamscapes.
The initial phase of ATLAM involves selecting a single architectural site in Malta and developing it as a prototype. This prototype will serve as the foundation for the full series, showcasing a curated collection of sketches, paintings, miniatures, and VFX-designed landscapes inspired by Malta’s architectural and cultural heritage.
Since fantasy and science fiction are my favourite genres, ATLAM provides the perfect space to experiment with new techniques and, hopefully, one day soon, realise my dream of branching out beyond dramas and crime, and exploring these genres and their extraordinary worlds.
Model Making & Film
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Poor Things, and Interstellar share use miniatures/dioramas to bring fantastical worlds to life. These intricate models, often scaled to human size, allow filmmakers to create environments that would be too expensive or physically impossible to construct full-size due to their structural complexity. Miniatures offer a cost-effective solution for exploring the realms of sci-fi, fantasy, and historical reconstructions, enabling the recreation of abandoned ruins or entirely new worlds. These meticulously crafted models are then filmed, and in post-production, the Art and VFX teams work together to integrate them into the final image.
While ATLAM’s goal isn’t to create a blockbuster with a multi-million dollar budget, its mission is to re-imagine Maltese visuals into inventive prototypes. These prototypes will showcase Malta's diverse landscape and illustrate how high-quality visuals can be achieved on a local budget.
Ultimately, the goal of my residency at VDC was to do just that. To create a fantasy prototype for cheap.
Spoiler: The entire model costs less than 100 euros.
Why VDC?
The Valletta Design Cluster, formerly the Biċċerija, has been renovated into a hub that promotes collaboration and experimentation with private studios for project development together with the maker space that is geared with essentials such as: 3D printers, laser machines, CNCs, embroidery machines and more. This served as the ideal place to get ATLAM started with the project’s prototype.
Learning through failing
Exploring new territory, the project began with a training session focused on 3D printing. This introduced yet another software to learn: Fusion 360. Although initially intimidating, VDC’s Executive, Octavian Andrei Grejdinoiu, patiently demonstrated how to edit ready-made models and even offered guidance on designing models from scratch. His support made the entire experience less daunting and genuinely enjoyable. That said, it did not come without failures.
The idea of 3D printing was thrilling, to say the very least, especially because of the possibilities it opened for prop making. Working in the art department in the film industry, there is often a need to find the unfindable and create unique props suited for filming. The fact that these props could be designed from scratch and printed at a relatively low cost opened up an entirely new world of creative potential.
As I learned more about 3D printing, I abandoned my original plan and dove into the most intimidating site from my ATLAM series: The Chapel of Bones.
For those unfamiliar, the Chapel of Bones was once said to be even more popular than St John's Co-Cathedral, and it stood where today’s Evans Building car park is located in Valletta. According to historical accounts, Fr G. Zammit, the chaplain of the civil hospital, decided to decorate the crypt with human bones in the 1800s. Another theory suggests that human remains were taken from the hospital cemetery. A Latin inscription on the altar explains the symbolism behind using human bones as decoration. It was meant to express how the world is a theatre and human life is truly a tragedy. Every earthly thing is a symbol of vanity. Death breaks and dissolves the illusion. Pray for the perpetual rest of the dead lying herein.
Due to time constraints and my skill level at that point in the residency, designing the bones from scratch was not feasible. Fortunately, I was able to download most of them. While this eased some of my initial concerns, working with pre-existing models presented a different set of challenges, especially in terms of scaling them down for the diorama.
With help from my former childhood schoolmate, Dr Maria Lara Buttigieg, I was able to identify the types of bones visible in the low resolution reference photos. From there, I had to determine the smallest possible scale I could use without losing essential detail. For context:
That is already very small. Dioramas are usually focused on exteriors, which typically means scaling down large structures rather than tiny anatomical forms.
To investigate how small I could print, I ran a lot of tests. I have genuinely lost count of how many prints I went through. I spent days printing different body parts, just to see what was possible. Some parts had to be ruled out entirely, as the quality was too poor to use. So I adjusted my approach. Instead of trying to test print everything, I focused on what mattered most: the human skull. This is the most prominent and visually recognisable element in the Chapel of Bones, and non-negotiable.
To give some context, VDC offers two main types of 3D printing: PLA and resin. There were two PLA printers available, a Creality and a Prusa, and one resin printer. When I chose the Chapel of Bones as my prototype from a list of potential sites, I assumed I would have access to both PLA machines. But on the first day of printing, the Creality broke down, so I had to adapt and continue the work using only the Prusa.
Seeing me struggle, the VDC team suggested I try resin printing, which did improve the level of detail. However, it proved to be too unpredictable. Some prints did not make it out of the basin, and with time against me, I couldn’t take that risk.
With some creative licence, the prototype of the Chapel of Bones is nearing its completion and will be revealed on my Instagram @mariarosathornhill later this year.
I’d like to thank the excellent team at VDC for their flexibility, professionalism and eagerness to help artists grow.
While I still have much to learn about model making, this experience has given me the confidence to move forward with my upcoming series, ‘ATLAM’, and a deeper appreciation for the intricate detail and time that models require to complete.
Artist Bio
Maria Rosa Thornhill is a Maltese multidisciplinary artist specialising as a production designer and costume designer. Her narrative work includes Malta’s candidate for the 97th Academy Awards ‘Castillo’, ‘I Wish I Never Existed’ featuring Zoe Colletti and Patrick Lyster and 'Merjen’, the first Maltese series to be internationally distributed in the US, Canada, and South America. A member of the European Film Academy, The Production Designers Collective, she trained at NFTS, attended The Art Department Masterclass and was selected as one of eight designers to participate in PÖFF’s Black Room.
Her selected works are available on: www.mariarosathornhill.com
For inquiries about ATLAM, please contact:
Maria Rosa Thornhill
mariarosathornhill@gmail.com
