Arts Thread

In a world increasingly dominated by flat screens and virtual experiences, ‘Plork’ invites viewers to reconnect with the tactile and sensory dimensions of reality. This collection of vibrant, abstract sculptures combines playful brush-like bristles with soft, melting shapes in an array of bold colours. Each piece in ‘Plork’ is designed to stimulate the senses and encourage a state of interactive engagement. The title ‘Plork’ is derived from the term coined by artist and educator Corita Kent, combining play and work to emphasise the seamless integration of these activities. This concept underpins the essence of Tyrone’s practice, highlighting the joy and creativity that emerge when work and play are indistinguishable. ‘Plork’ embodies this philosophy, inviting viewers to engage with the artworks in a manner that is both playful and thoughtful. The objects before you are not just meant to be seen, but to be touched, smelled, and explored. This multisensory approach is a deliberate effort to cultivate sensory affinities and rekindle the joy of physical interaction. The bristles, with their varied textures, invite you to run your fingers through them, while the smooth, dripping forms evoke a sense of fluidity and motion, tempting you to feel their curves and edges. ‘Plork’ is a celebration of the sense of touch, emphasising its profound role in learning, playfulness, and exploration. In touching these objects, you are invited to enter a state of flow—where the mind is fully immersed in the act of play, achieving a sense of calm and moments of uninterrupted mind-nothingness. This interaction encourages a contemplative pause, a break from the digital and a return to the tangible. Each sculpture within ‘Plork’ holds a unique invitation: Touch: Engage with the varied textures, from the stiff bristles to the soft, smooth surfaces. Smell: Discover subtle scents embedded within the materials, adding an olfactory layer to your experience. Sound: Gently move the objects to hear if they produce sounds, exploring auditory dimensions. Colour: Delight in the bold, contrasting hues, allowing the colours to evoke emotions and memories. Through ‘Plork’, Tyrone Vera encourages viewers to rediscover the joy of touch and the richness it brings to our understanding of the world. This collection is a reminder that in the simple act of play, we can find moments of mindfulness, creativity, and peace. Engage with ‘Plork’ fully and let your senses guide your experience, allowing the art to transport you to a place of sensory delight and thoughtful reflection.

Tyrone Vera’s work responds to the act of play through the use of architectural forms, taken from primary photographs of buildings, that have been interpreted through a variety of materials such as rubber, foam, Jesmonite and fabric. His investigations have led him to respond to the senses of: sight, touch, smell and sound. Tyrone invites the audience to interact with the forms by stacking and connecting using a variety of methods from magnets to velcro. His work is about the sensory experience when engaged within the act of play. The forms have been fabricated in a variety of materials to evoke different sensations when being held. Tyrone has also created a series of large scale inflatable building blocks. Through a series of abstraction and translation into ripstop fabric these rigid forms have been softened so that they possess child-like distortions of geometry. A stop frame video has been created to accompany the inflatables to animate the building blocks in a fun way. The tufted piece invites the audience to touch the work and bring the benefits of sensory design to a wider audience. The shapes used have been extracted and manipulated from brutalist architecture whilst the colours come from my investigation of play in design.