Mattia Ciaf introduces himself with a footnote: ‘Mattia Ciaf (b. 1991) is a visual artist, or at least that is what he claims.’
It is difficult to imagine a more fitting introduction to a practice that systematically distrusts appearances. Images lie, objects lie, brands lie and, above all, so does the idea that contemporaneity is simply the context in which we live, rather than something we stage every day. Ciaf gathers the visual residue of advanced capitalism – images found online, generational clichés, consumer products, digital habits and recurring behaviours – and examines it like an archaeologist confronted with the remains of a civilisation still convinced that it is functioning perfectly.
Ciaf works with the things society has taught us not to notice: a key lockbox screwed to a wall, a stock photograph, a five-star review, an emoji. These are not marginal details, but symptoms. Moving between anthropology, internet culture and conceptual ambition, Ciaf transforms everyday objects into critical devices capable of exposing the often absurd mechanisms that govern contemporary desire. He does not alter reality; he shifts it slightly, just enough to make its contradictions impossible to ignore. His installations rarely raise their voice. They prefer the restrained smile that appears a moment before we realise the joke is about us.
One of the recurring themes in his practice is consumption – not so much what we buy, but what it promises us. Before purchasing the product, we buy into its narratives: authenticity, belonging, wellbeing, experience and identity. Ciaf’s work methodically dismantles these shared fictions, revealing the invisible choreography that organises our behaviour. We scroll through the same content, travel to the same places, furnish our homes in the same way and desire the same things. Originality has become a template to replicate.
Presented at ReA Art Fair 2026, Mi casa es tu cozy apartment (2025) targets one of the most recognisable objects in the contemporary urban landscape: the Airbnb key lockbox. Arranged on the wall like a minimalist sculpture, a series of lockboxes forms an accidental monument to temporary living. Originally conceived as a purely functional device, this small object has become the silent symbol of cities in which homes are gradually ceasing to be places in which people live and becoming financial assets with Wi-Fi.
Instead of keys, each lockbox contains photographs taken from Airbnb listings. Carefully laid tables, immaculate interiors and spaces designed to stage an idea of intimacy with the precision of advertising, where even domestic warmth becomes a purchasable service. At the centre of the installation, one of the boxes has been sealed with adhesive tape. The gesture recalls actions by anti-Airbnb activists who physically block access to flats used for short-term rentals. This small intervention is enough to shift the work beyond observation and suggest the possibility of taking a position.
Ciaf never offers moral judgements. He simply presents the evidence and allows the images to speak. His practice reveals how contemporary capitalism operates most effectively when it adopts a reassuring face, when it speaks the language of hospitality, flexibility and cosiness. After all, who could object to the idea of feeling at home? The question changes meaning rather sharply, however, when nobody actually lives in those homes any more.
Text by Vittoria Martinotti