Maria’s Dream is the latest work by Gaia De Megni (Santa Margherita Ligure, 1993), curated by Maria Lodovica Ferrari and presented in the museum’s Video Room. Produced by Careof (Milan) and winner of ArteVisione 2024, the work is being presented in a museum setting for the first time.
Shot on 16 mm film, the video takes the form of a personal and intimate exploration, in which family memory engages with the imagery of Italian cinema. At the heart of Maria’s Dream is Monica Vitti, the quintessential anti-diva: an actress who was able to step outside the conventions of stardom of her time, bringing an uneasy, ironic and profoundly modern presence to the screen. For De Megni, her figure becomes an opportunity to question the models through which cinema has constructed and shaped the image of femininity in culture and the collective gaze.