How does a “like” materialise? How many deserts become processors? Where is the work that connects us hidden?
In the folds of digital everyday life, where every click seems magical and every parcel seems to arrive “out of nowhere”, this exhibition brings to the surface what the illusion of the virtual tends to remove: the material. “Material Virtuality” invites us to look beyond the screen to discover the infrastructure, bodies and natural resources that lie behind every interaction with our devices.
The Limonaia di Villa Saroli in Lugano is transformed into a critical and sensory space: six art and research installations guide visitors through the invisible physicality of the digital world, between silicon beaches and work tents, theological tables and visual experiences.
Digital platforms, algorithms, artificial intelligence: behind the appearance of an immaterial economy lies a world of raw materials, energy and people that ‘Material Virtualities’ allows us to understand and explore.
The project is the result of a transnational collaboration between research, art, architecture and teaching. The exhibition is an evolving flow, which, after a first stop in Bologna (“Data Materialities”), now arrives in Ticino and will have other lives. The exhibition at Villa Saroli offers an enriched and rethought itinerary, becoming a hub for intergenerational discussion and education. Designed to introduce children to exhibitions from an early age, it includes a rich programme of talks and public meetings aimed at the general public.

Exhibition

The exhibition takes place from 30 October to 22 November 2025 at the Limonaia di Villa Saroli in Lugano and will be open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Public event programme and information