@videoinsightfoundation has acquired the work “Self-portrait with stoma” (oil on canvas, 100 x 60 cm, 2026) by Artist @sebastiano_sofia for the Videoinsight® Collection. The piece was part of the group exhibition “Caregiver,” curated by @rebeccarusso.videoinsight and promoted by @videoinsightfoundation at @magazziniartecontemporanea in Trapani (July 29 – August 29, 2026).

“This self-portrait stems from the experience of having a stoma — an event that radically transformed my relationship with my body. For months, caring for myself meant performing simple yet essential daily actions: cleaning, dressing the wound, observing, and accepting. It was a ritual defined by fragility, patience and listening. Yet, this act of #care was not merely physical; it was also a mental and emotional exercise — learning to inhabit a changed body and confronting fear, shame, and uncertainty. I did not walk this path alone. The presence of those who stood by me —d octors, nurses, family, and friends —reminded me that #takingcare is always a relationship, a shared act. This painting was born from that experience: it tells the story not just of a wound, but of the possibility of rediscovering a sense of tenderness toward one’s own body, even when it seems to have become a stranger.” Sebastiano Sofia

Sebastiano Sofia’s work is distinguished by a fluid, organic, and evocative painting style, in which the human figure dissolves into metamorphic forms. The application of paint is liquid and layered. Body contours are never sharp or rigidly defined; instead, they appear soft — almost gelatinous or membranous — reflecting the fluidity of the body’s interior and the mutable nature of flesh. In Self-portrait with stoma — an intimate, visceral self-portrait — the artist confronts the complexities of the vulnerable body, the nature of #care, and the reclamation of bodily identity. He lays bare his physical and psychological state regarding the presence of a stoma — a permanent or temporary anatomical alteration that radically transforms one’s relationship with their own body. Sofia’s palette employs organic and flesh-toned hues: shades of pink, visceral reds, pale blue-whites, and areas of warm or earthy shadow. The color is not descriptive in a realistic sense, but rather emotional and sensory. The atmosphere is suspended in time, hovering between the dreamlike and the clinical-anatomical realm. The figure seems to emerge from or sink into the background, creating a sense of privacy that is simultaneously violated and embraced, where the delicacy of the brushwork softens the impact of the medical condition on display. His painterly exploration transforms biological fragility and the mark of illness into an act of pure visual poetry. The work aligns with the primary objective of Videoinsight®: using painting as a psychotherapeutic tool to bring deep inner insights to the surface.

Within the context of the Caregiver exhibition — created to explore concepts of care, dependency, empathy, and physical and emotional support — the painting acts as a bridge between two dimensions:

• the body as a site of care: the stoma ceases to be a mere clinical detail and becomes the conceptual focal point of the work, a symbol of human vulnerability and the need for acceptance;

• the act of self-caregiving: even before receiving care from the outside, the figure is immortalized in the act of managing, observing, and inhabiting their own condition.” Rebecca Russo