@videoinsightfoundation – ETS acquires the artwork “Self-portrait with stoma” (oil on canvas, 100 x 60 cm, 2026) by Artist @sebastiano_sofia. The piece was part of the group exhibition “Caregiver”— curated by @rebeccarusso.videoinsight and promoted by @videoinsightfoundation— held at @magazziniartecontemporanea in Trapani from July 29 to 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 — doctors, 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. Sofia’s palette employs organic and flesh-toned hues: shades of pink, visceral reds, pale blue-white tones, and areas of warm or earthy shadow. The color is not descriptive in a realistic sense, but rather emotional and sensorially perceptive. The atmosphere is suspended in time, hovering between the dreamlike and the clinical or anatomical. 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 exposed medical condition. His artistic exploration transforms biological fragility and the marks 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.

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. Within the context of the exhibition Caregiver — 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, where the stoma ceases to be a mere clinical detail and becomes the conceptual core of the work— a symbol of human vulnerability and the need for acceptance; the act of self-caregiving: even before receiving care from others, the figure is immortalized in the act of managing, observing, and inhabiting their own condition.” Rebecca Russo