CURA.

SAGG Napoli’s (Sofia Alice Ginevra Giannì) work exists at the sharp intersection of body, language, and an unyielding exploration of artistic freedom. For her, art is not a finished product—it’s an ongoing inquiry into what it means to be an artist. It is a vibrant fusion of cultural commentary, raw physicality, and audacious experimentation that refuses to be confined by any single identity or medium.

At the heart of SAGG Napoli’s practice lies a deep, unapologetic engagement with the aesthetics of Southern Italy, particularly the city of Naples. But her connection to the city is far from nostalgic or simplistic. It’s a deep dive into how these southern aesthetics are shaped by the political and socio-economic rift between Northern and Southern Europe—a divide that continues to define much of the country’s cultural tension. Her work refuses to take on the easy mantle of homage. Instead, it opens up questions of identity, place, and belonging. It’s a meditation on how the visceral energy of Naples can both define and subvert the image of the South, challenging assumptions with every gesture. “I remember one of the first works I made, a video in the Centro Direzionale—a location that symbolizes the city’s forced modernity, a place where architecture serves no real purpose beyond the one imposed on it. The space felt alien, disconnected from the people it was supposed to serve. My movements seemed like attempts to break free, to carve out space in a place that wasn’t designed with us in mind.”

Central to Sofia’s work is the body. The body becomes both canvas and instrument—serving as a vessel through which complex ideas can be expressed. Over time, this exploration of the body deepened, and it was through the discipline of archery that SAGG Napoli found a more tangible connection to her practice. Archery, as a discipline, became a game-changer in her work, propelling her beyond the boundaries of the traditional art world and into a space where she could communicate with a broader audience.

Through archery, SAGG Napoli discovered an unexpected structure for herself—a tangible way to measure progress that contrasted starkly with the subjective nature of traditional art. There is no ambiguity in archery: you shoot the arrow, and you receive a mark—a ten, a seven. In this simplicity, SAGG Napoli found something raw and direct, a way to gauge growth in a world where art’s impact is often more fleeting and ephemeral. “At that time, archery was a method of survival and a discipline that helped me navigate uncertainty. It wasn’t about performance or art—it was a personal belief that drove me. Even though I ended up competing at high levels, I wasn’t focused on the competition itself, but on what it represented: Archery became a stable routine, a grounded form of growth.” Archery provided her a grounded method of measurement, something substantial, unlike the often elusive, abstract nature of the creative process. It wasn’t just an artistic tool—it became a means of survival. During a period of personal and physical turmoil, archery offered a sense of clarity and certainty. The body, once again, became the focal point, providing a tangible way to navigate the complexities of both her inner and outer worlds

Social media, often dismissed as a space for shallow self-promotion, became yet another tool in her arsenal—not for validation, but for creation. In her hands, these platforms became a means to distill layered ideas into digestible formats that could be understood on a visceral level, without requiring deep academic knowledge. Social media offered immediacy, a space where she could communicate directly. “The irony is that people started labeling me as an influencer. When I think of influencers, I imagine a disconnect with what I do. But, and here’s the irony, when you look at the etymology of the word, it’s about influence—and I do believe my work carries influence.”

Just as in her practice of archery, there was something refreshing about the simplicity and directness of social media’s immediacy. It allowed SAGG Napoli to reach an audience far beyond the cloistered circles of the art world.

Enter the world of fashion—shiny, glossy, often criticized for its superficiality and consumerism. On the surface, fashion seems at odds with her raw, anti-elitist approach. But through her collaboration with Maria Grazia Chiuri, she discovered a rare kind of freedom. This wasn’t fashion as commodity—it was fashion as an artistic platform. Through Chiuri’s collection, she was able to communicate her own themes, finding a space where her ideas could be expressed without the typical commercial constraints that tend to stifle creativity in the fashion world. “My work doesn’t exist on command. When I collaborated with Maria Grazia Chiuri, for example, there was no demand for a predefined language or a particular performance. It was organic. She was creating a collection that aligned with themes I had already explored, and she gave me the freedom to express them in my way. That kind of autonomy is rare, and it was a rare moment of alignment between the personal and the professional.”

This freedom was paramount. She has never been one to bend her practice to fit the commercial market or mold her ideas to please external forces. For her, art must serve her first. Everything else—commercial success, industry accolades, marketability—comes second. Her practice is an act of defiance against the commodification of art. It’s a commitment to authenticity in a world that often demands conformity; it’s a radical statement about creative autonomy in an industry that too often reduces art to a commodity. “I feel a lot less owned by a brand than by a collector. That’s something that always made me cringe. Brands are the new patrons anyway.”

SAGG Napoli’s practice is always evolving. It is a continuous process, a conversation between the artist and the work that never ends. It’s this evolution that pushes the boundaries of what it means to be an artist today: “The performance, for me, was in the process—the daily act of creating an alternative discipline, a routine that broke from the typical artist’s trajectory.” Her work resists stagnation, just as she resists being pinned down to any one identity. The fragments of her identity—whether it’s as an influencer, a performance artist, or a collaborator with global fashion houses—are all part of a larger, ongoing dialogue.

In a world that demands categorization, her work stands as a testament to the power of fluidity, authenticity, and creative autonomy. Her practice is about creating space—not just physically, but ideologically. It’s about expanding the boundaries of what it means to be an artist, about offering a new way of thinking about art in today’s world. Her practice is not just a critique of the world she inhabits, but an invitation to rethink the very notion of identity, art, and creativity: a continual exploration, a relentless questioning, a redefinition of the boundaries between disciplines, media, and ideas. In this ongoing process, SAGG Napoli’s art holds a unique and powerful place—one that challenges conventions, pushes limits, and opens up new possibilities for what art can be.