Cara’s practice explores the relationship between the digital and physical realm, and investigates themes of play, technology and cyberspace. For those growing up in the ‘digital age’, childhood memories of play are associated with retro videogame consoles. Her work originates from retrofuturism, digital nostalgia, and toys. Throughout the pandemic, technology has provided us with much needed escapism, and she aims to highlight this: exploring how we can utilise technology to generate play and joy. Cara uses digital tools like computer rendering and creative coding to generate imagery, and 3D printing software to materialise these concepts into objects. Her designs aim to emulate a feeling of objects as digital fragments, that seem almost touchable through a computer screen.

Titled ‘CYBERPLAY’, her graduate collection offers an engaging activity for the wearer, combining both jewellery and play. It consists of three key components: colour, interchangeability and kinetic movement. PLA filament is her primary material, as a compostable plastic it permits a lightness to the pieces. The jewellery pieces are interchangeable, their lightness adding to their versatility. Together, these elements form an interactive experience, where the individual can combine + construct pieces to wear, keeping the activity of ‘play’ a key part of the collection.