From September 15 to October 18, 2026, the Société Interludio gallery in Cambiano, in the province of Turin, will present *La Scia*, the first solo exhibition by Italian artist Gaia De Megni (Santa Margherita Ligure, 1993), curated by Vincenzo Estremo. The project stems from a reflection on the processes through which images are produced, transmitted, and preserved, focusing in particular on the relationship between memory, cinema, and moving images. Through the use of light, architecture, and the physical presence of the audience, the artist transforms the gallery into a sort of cinematic environment devoid of images.
The exhibition’s title evokes the trail left by a moving body. The artist draws a connection between the concept of a fluid-dynamic wake and that of an optical trail produced by light, exploring what remains after a body passes through a beam of light. This relationship gives rise to a reflection on the ability of images to transform into memory, but also on their gradual disappearance. The tension between presence and absence—between what remains and what fades away—directly involves the viewer as well. When light encounters the body, it temporarily alters its perception and makes it an integral part of the work.
*La Scia* draws inspiration from the differences between cinema and television in how images are produced and transmitted within a darkened space. In cinema, the image is projected onto a screen that serves as a receiving surface; television, on the other hand, emits its light directly into the room, reaching the viewers’ bodies. From this perspective, the viewer’s body can briefly become a sort of screen upon which the light acts and leaves a trace. The images, therefore, are not simply observed but physically enter the viewer’s space, becoming something that is absorbed and consumed.
According to Gaia De Megni’s research, this mechanism highlights the fragility of the relationship between memory and oblivion. An image can disappear at the very moment it continues to produce effects in the present, leaving a trace that survives its original presence.
The disappearance of the image becomes an opportunity to reflect on the concept of oblivion, which is particularly significant in a contemporary world where the erasure and manipulation of memory can also take on a political dimension. The viewer is not a bystander in this process. Their presence interrupts the fields of light and, in turn, generates a new “trail”: an ephemeral trace that hovers in balance between memory and disappearance, presence and absence.
Gaia De Megni studied at NABA—Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the Pecci Center in Prato as part of the SUPERTOSCANA program. In 2024, she presented *Leitmotiv*, her first solo exhibition at an institution, at the Fondazione La Rocca in Pescara, curated by Francesca Guerisoli. In September 2026, MACRO in Rome will also host *Maria’s Dream*, a solo exhibition of her work curated by Maria Lodovica Ferrari.
She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Among her most recent exhibitions are *Per un’antologia delle ombre* at the Casa della Memoria in Milan (2026), the Biennale del Sur in Milan (2025), *UNDERCURRENTS* at Vila 31 x Art Explora in Tirana (2025), the Malta Biennale in Valletta (2024), and *Ekrani i Artit* in Shkodër (2022). His work has also been presented as part of Ipermaremma in Tuscany (2021), *The Wild State* at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz (2020), and *PROPAGANDA*, an exhibition curated by Marcello Maloberti at the Museo del Novecento in Milan (2019).
Among his major awards are the Arte Visione – Careof (2025), the Pini Art Prize from the Pini Foundation (2023), the DUCATO – Arte Accademia (2019), and the City of Monza Prize – Biennale dei Giovani (2017).
Gaia De Megni was also selected as a finalist for Flash Art – Emerging Artists in 2025, for the Michetti Prize in 2024, and for the Talent Prize in 2021.
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| At Société Interludio, Gaia De Megni’s first solo exhibition will be a cinematic space devoid of images |
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