Low Tech Soft Touch is a new body of research by Ronan Smyth that embraces amateur, lo-fi and recreational approaches to craft production.
Referencing fringe culture, fine art history, childhood play and memory, Low Tech Soft Touch incorporates a range of media – including hand-made objects, drawing, sculpture and video – explore the complex social positioning and queer agency of sci-fi props, folk relics, educational toys, dioramas, souvenirs, domestic trinkets and excavations.
Low Tech Soft Touch presents works at various stages of emergence and construction, trialling alternative and heavily improvised strategies of decoration; reanimating tender yet humorous attempts towards aspirational grandeur that undermine labour-intensive production.
More information: https://www.pssquared.org/projects/low-tech-soft-touch
About the artist:
Ronan Smyth is a visual artist and researcher currently based in Belfast. In 2025, he completed a practice-based PhD with Ulster University, exploring the sociopolitical role of DIY, hobbyist and amateur craft through class-conscious perspectives of queer shame in Ireland. Based at Flax Art Studios, he works across various disciplines including sculpture, textile and drawing. Ronan also contributes regularly to socially engaged workshops, community projects and educational seminars. He has been the recipient of several funding awards from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, a-n, and Royal Dublin Society.
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