Skia
Luminous absences
Sapiens Design Collection | 2026
The objects that accompany us every day hold fragments of life, moments, glances. Without our even noticing, they become silent witnesses to our existence. Skia was born from the desire to honour these quiet presences.
From the ancient Greek word for shadow, Skia is an object that celebrates memory through a simple, almost ritualistic gesture. You choose an everyday object and place it in a space designed to hold it. A light source behind it casts its shadow onto the surface in front, a panel made from a special blend of resin and photoluminescent powder. During the projection, the panel absorbs the light. When the lamp is turned off, the portion of the surface that had been illuminated continues to emit a soft glow, leaving the shadow of the object imprinted.
If the object is moved or removed, its silhouette remains on the panel for a prolonged time. It is as if, freed from its physical body, the object continues to exist as a luminous absence, a negative cast of light.
The shadow becomes memory, an imprint that lasts.
This simple act of placing and removing, turning on and off, activates a silent dialogue between us and our objects: we ask them to tell their story, and they answer with the persistence of their absence.
Skia was designed in response to the call Camini. Domestic Presences in the Post-Technical Era, curated by Paolo Casicci, which asked for a contemporary reinterpretation of the fireplace as a scenic and spiritual presence.
With Skia, the hearth is imagined as the place where people once gathered to tell stories, stories that slowly turned into memories and tales to pass down. A place where the embers keep radiating warmth even after the fire has died, holding onto the memory of the flame. In the same way, Skia preserves the luminous imprint of the object even after it has disappeared.
The project was presented during Milan Design Week 2026 at Spazio Vito Nesta.
In an age that encourages us to replace and forget, Skia invites us to cherish and remember, restoring to everyday objects their dignity as a scenic and spiritual presence within the home.
