On the occasion of the eighth edition of Videocittà, the festival dedicated to digital culture that every year is held in Rome since 2018, Quayola (Rome, 1982) premiered SOLAR, a site-specific installation conceived for the iconic structure of the Gazometro.
The work is a monumental light performance that exploits the iron structure of the industrial monument — articulated in solids and voids — to offer a dual mode of viewing, both from the inside and the outside.
The installation offers an ephemeral representation of the sun through a choreography of warm and cold lights which, accompanied by an audio track alternating between relaxed moments and rapid trills, amplifies the perception of its apparent motion and the different phases of the day. The Solar show begins with a dense effusion of artificial smoke that floods the entire space to intensify the effects of the light and create a rarefied, almost cosmic atmosphere in which the audience is physically immersed.
The light projections come from a robotic arm – a recurring element in the artist’s work – located at the centre of the installation, and from other motorised spotlights anchored to the circular perimeter of the structure. The Gazometro, in fact, acts as the skeleton of the installation and as a projection surface; the spotlights hitting the metal grid reflect stroboscopic images of luminous stars surrounding the mother star of the solar system.
SOLAR is part of Quayola’s research, which has long observed and reworked nature through the use of new technologies. Lasting about ten minutes, the installation condenses an immersive experience that intertwines light, sound and landscape.
After its Roman premiere, the work will continue on an international tour, bringing with it the vision of a synthetic Sun capable of reinterpreting the relationship between nature, technology and urban monumentality.
Davide Quayola, SOLAR, 2025
Presented in its world premiere from 3 to 6 July 2025, SOLAR will kick off an international tour that will continue in August in Toronto. SOLAR is a site-specific installation by Quayola, produced by Eni, curated by Videocittà in collaboration with The Bentway Toronto, with executive production by Eventi Italiani.
