Studio Stolfa

land art , fotografie , film , Ecologie , Artistiek onderzoek

Matilde Stolfa is an Italian artist and designer based in Rotterdam.
Her practice explores the dynamics between the built environment, dwelling, socioeconomic and anthropogenic factors in an age of extreme climate change.
Her work uses spatial installations, site specific interventions, film and performance as main media, crafting morphing spaces through images, material and formal research. By developing immersive and often multisensorial experiences, Matilde creates intuitive and approachable narratives through the use of storytelling based methodologies. Her work unfolds narratives that connect landscapes both in their natural and anthropic dynamics, fostering the understanding of how climate change influences not only the spaces we inhabit but also our social, cultural and economic dynamics and vice versa.

In the last four years Matilde focused her research on the cultural and ecological impacts of rising sea levels on coastal areas and soil salinisation in Italy and the Netherlands.
Matilde is currently part of ECOP Dutch Node: Early Career Ocean Professional, working towards bridging ocean literacy, design and art.

**As Water Stands Still-2025** - The spatial installation narrates the shifting dynamics between coastal human activities and the landscapes they produce. The abandonment of traditional activities such as salt farming and fish farming, which broadly shaped the water landscape of the South-Western coast of Taiwan, and the gradual conversion of the remaining activities into touristic hubs is dictating the production of new spaces, architectural and behavioural languages. New, hybrid landscapes appear and they bring a new array of activities and interactions. Reproducing lost traditions, documenting intimate moments, dis- playing one’s presence, just being, existing, or simply staring at water while waiting for a fish to bite the hook, lands of stray dogs, of scooters flashing by, blinding spots and whitened soils, piles of oyster shells and pressed tires. The landscape turns into a mosaic, the same that paved the Jingzaijiao salt pans. The project was supported by Stimuleringfunds, Taipei Dutch office and Taiwan government.

**EAT-Ebbs And Flows, with Tomoko Mukayama** - 2025// 2 weeks performance at Mediamatic EAT is an installation performance series initiated in 2023 by Tomoko Mukaiyama. It explores the rituals of morning practices and the subtle interplay between cultural habits and natural forces that shape them. Each edition of EAT delves into the material and sensory dimensions of our daily beginnings. For this iteration, we welcome artist Matilde Stolfa and musician Shannon Lee. In this edition, following her practice, Matilde Stolfa proposed to centre the performance around water—its constant flow, its shifting presence, and the way it escapes human control. The meal becomes a ritual in itself: an offering, a meditation, a shared moment. Over the course of a one-hour sound experience, EAT unfolds as a five-course journey featuring foraged ingredients and plants that have very different water needs. A meditative gateway into the day, EAT invites us to tune into the body, to sound, to taste, and to the landscapes we inhabit. "In a historical moment when water is trapped in a paradox—where clean drinking water is increasingly scarce, and yet our cities are threatened by floods, water becomes an element that resists control. Perhaps instead of trying to master it, we can learn to follow its rhythms. As the tide rises, we learn how to float, how to let go. In doing so, we begin to redefine our relationship with the living landscapes around us.” - Matilde Stolfa

**BECOMING A PIONEER PLANT (WORKSHOP) with Andrea Minchio-2025** - ‘Becoming a pioneer plant’ is a workshop co-designed with permaculture expert Andrea Minchio and presented for the first time during Industria Festival, an architectural festival, organised by the architectural association of Modena, that promotes the reactivation of former industrial sites in the region Emilia-Romagna (IT). In the workshop we invited the participant to explore a former industrial area in the harbour of Ravenna by taking the point of view of a pioneer plant. Through embodied research, observation and sensorial mapping, the participants surveyed the space starting from the margins, exploring how more-than-human entities re-inhabit abandoned spaces, and how life develops where our systems fail. The workshop was intended as a training for architects to envision new design possibilities that go beyond the human experience, and as a tool to understand how designing for different entities can promote the development of climate resilient spaces. The workshop was followed and appreciated also by regular citizens who enjoyed the possibilities of exploring nature and designed related themes in an engaging and participatory way.

**Shifting Tides-2024** - “Shifting Tides,” a collaboration between designer Matilde Stolfa and scientist Hailley Danielson-Owczynsky, from Dutch Royal Marine Research Institute (NIOZ). It explores how the impact of rising sea levels on the Wadden Sea’s benthic environment influences ecosystems from micro to macro scales, affecting multiple species and the landscape they inhabit. Over nine months, they created an ephemeral installation in Texel and a documentary capturing field- work on sea research ships. The project examines how rising sea levels alter sediment distribution and affect crustaceans, migratory birds, and broader ecosystems. The installation, featuring ice and sediment blocks, reveals the dynamic changes in the Wadden Sea’s ecosystem and the ephemerality and fragility of intertidal areas. The documentary footage provides insight into scientific research and uncovers the behind the scene dynamics of environmental research, emphasizing human impact and adaptation to these environmental shifts. The project was developed during the Collaboration

Shifting Tides-Collaboration for future

Datum: 01-11-2023 t/m 31-10-2024

Locatie: Texel, Wadden Sea

In samenwerking met: Foundation We Are, NIOZ

“Shifting Tides” is a collaboration between designer Matilde Stolfa and scientist Hailley Danielson-Owczynsky, from Dutch Royal Marine Research Institute (NIOZ). It explores how the impact of rising sea levels on the Wadden Sea’s benthic environment influences ecosystems from micro to macro scales, affecting multiple species and the landscape they inhabit.

https://matildestolfa.com/shifting-tides

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