The contemporary urban condition demands a shift from the static monument to the "twilight atlas"—a metaphor for a mode of proximity that is patient, non-totalizing, and deeply attuned to the fragile resonances of the everyday. Socioplastics, as articulated through the fifteen-year trajectory of the LAPIEZA agency and the visionary praxis of Anto Lloveras, emerges not as a rigid definition but as a transdisciplinary terrain where architecture, epistemology, and art converge. It is a rhizomatic framework inspired by the agonistic frictions of Foucault, Deleuze, and Bourdieu, where the artwork is displaced from the fixed object into a process of cross-pollination and collective mutation. Central to the socioplastic ethos is the Trienal Urbanas (2015–2025), a sustained investigation into the "States of Vigil" (Estados de Vigilia). Through the logic of the triptych—a triad of images acting as a "translatorial device"—Lloveras maps the psycho-geographic cartography of metropolitan fragility. These sequences capture "minimal whiteness" and "tactile oxidation," resisting linear narration in favor of a rhythmic unfolding of time. Whether in the industrial peripheries of Madrid or the historic cores of European capitals, these triptychs function as cognitive anchors that reveal the latent architectures of the mundane, positioning the artist as a sentinel of the ephemeral.
The socioplastic intervention often manifests through the Unstable Installation Series, where the work becomes a "situational fixer." Iconic elements like the Yellow Bag or Blue Bags travel across Provence, Norway, and Cádiz, acting as nomadic signals that reclaim public space through radical presence. This exploration of memory and exilio reaches a crescendo in projects like Re-(t)exHile (Lagos Biennial), where discarded textiles serve as conduits for postcolonial narratives, or MUDAS (Mexico), which utilizes ephemeral banana leaves to discuss the "skin" of the city. These actions prioritize relational affection over institutional permanence, ensuring that the work remains a porous, living entity. Socioplastics extends into the landscape through a sophisticated ecocriticism. The Supernatural Series (e.g., Sunflower Fields in Slovakia) and Hidden Forces (Duna series) demonstrate a ritualistic engagement with nature that is both ancestral and anticipatory. These "Broth Rituals" and "Cadáver Exquisito" sessions are not mere performances but pedagogical experiments in hybridity, often developed in collaboration with figures like Fredrik Lund at NTNU. The Camarote (Madrid) functions as the domestic laboratory for these theories—a living "BRAIN" where architecture is lived as a research unit, dissolving the boundaries between private residence and cultural ecology.
As we navigate the crises of the mid-2020s—characterized by rampant gentrification, "turistización," and the erosion of civic space—Socioplastics offers a vital tool for resistance. Through the CAPA (Consejo Agonista de Políticas Anticipatorias) platform, Lloveras generates synthetic micro-essays that dismantle hegemonic narratives, replacing them with a modular, open-source epistemology. By treating art as a "barbecho" (fallow) process—allowing ideas to mature, cross-pollinate, and mutate—LAPIEZA maintains an archive that is effectively alive. Ultimately, Socioplastics positions affection as fuel. It is an invitation to inhabit the "twilight atlas" of our cities with a renewed sense of care, transforming the hard surfaces of the metropolis into sites of collective resonance. In a world of media saturation, the silence and synthesis of these relational states provide the necessary friction to imagine a city that, for once, returns our affection.
ANTO LLOVERAS
SOCIOPLASTICS
https://antolloveras.blogspot.com
