ORIRI

A photographic narrative of events and places socially permeated with complexity.

ORIRI is the title of the book by photographer Francesco Bellina, who since 2015 has been on a journey that has taken him to Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, the Mediterranean Sea and Sicily.

ORIRI is also the title of the exhibition of the same name presented in Palermo at the Fondazione Sant’Elia in 2021, in which the curator, Luca Santese, describes the photographer as follows: ‘Bellina is a photojournalist in whom I immediately recognised a great intuition for penetrating events by coming into contact with their inhabitants, both as a journalist but above all as a person, a gift that allows him to capture images of situations to which few have access and thus allows us, as viewers, to reach them. We thus cross thresholds into further, transcendent planes, usually reserved for very restricted circles.’

The project

With his photographs, the result of a long period of fieldwork, Francesco Bellina recounts a little-known perspective: the religious and ritual bond between women who are victims of sexual slavery and their exploiters, who often resort to local priests, generally described as voodoo priests, to create and reinforce the bond of subjugation.
ORIRI (which in the Bini language means ‘spirits, nightmares’) is a journey back in time through the experience of thousands of women forced to lead a life of exploitation, bound forever to their exploiters through an initiatory and religious ritual, a key element of this phenomenon.

We chose to translate Bellina’s narrative into graphic form with the aim of highlighting the dichotomy between documentation and storytelling. The volume is part of a broader process of promoting art and design culture, which Studio Forward champions through Forward Edizioni, an independent publishing house that aims to re-evaluate the central importance of the book as an object through limited editions, specific graphic design projects and an editorial committee that is competent in the specific subject matter of each publication. artistic’ publishing house, which, through limited editions, specific graphic designs and an editorial committee with expertise in the specific subject matter of each publication, aims to re-evaluate the central importance of books in the digital age.

AUTHOR

Francesco Bellina

A documentary photographer based in Palermo, he focuses his artistic work primarily on contemporary socio-political issues with a particular focus on the theme of migration. He attended law school in Palermo while simultaneously pursuing photography. His work has been published in major international media such as The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Globe and Mail, Paris Match, Le Monde, Internazionale, L’Espresso, The Washington Post, among others. He often works with NGOs and is a contributor to UNHCR, WHO and others. In 2016 and 2017 he was nominated for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. In 2018 his work “Nigerian Connection” was included in the “Palermo Atlas” of the nomadic European biennial Manifesta12 and OMA. In 2021 his ongoing project “The Last Fishermen,” curated by Izabela Anne Moren, won the 10th Italian Council fund, sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

The story of this girl is told in the first pages of the book.

Upcoming events

We promote Forward Edizioni through meetings with authors, presentations in cultural venues, and events that intersect art and design.

APRIL 5, 2025

- 11:30-20:00

Paper Market \ Rome

Forward Edizioni participates in PAPER market, the Roman event dedicated to creativity on paper

MONK ROMA – via Giuseppe Mirri

JANUARY 22/23, 2025

- 11:00-20:00

Fiber \ Palermo

Forward Edizioni participates in Fibra, Palermo’s first fair dedicated to paper and art

NOZ – Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Palermo

JANUARY 24/26, 2025

- all day

The Art Chapter \ Milan

Forward Edizioni participates in The Art Chapter, the fair dedicated to experimentation and publishing research related to contemporary art

BASE Milano – Via Ambrogio Bergognone da Fossano 34

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

- 11:30-20:00

Paper Market \ Rome

Forward Edizioni participates in PAPER market, the Roman event dedicated to creativity on paper

MONK ROMA – via Giuseppe Mirri

MAY 27, 2024

- 18:30

Palazzo Scammacca \ Catania

Presentation of the book ORIRI. Speakers: author and photographer Francesco Bellina; publisher Diego Emanuele; moderator Stefania Mazzone, Unict lecturer

PIAZZA SCAMMACCA 1 – CATANIA

april 19, 2024

- 19:00