ORIRI

Fondazione Sant’Elia and Studio Forward present the book  ORIRI  by Francesco Bellina,
on 10.01.23 at Palazzo Sant’Elia

ORIRI is the title of the editorial work, containing a photographic narration of events and places socially imbued with complexity, by the photographer  Francesco Bellina,  who since 2015 has traveled on a journey that has involved Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, the Mediterranean Sea and Sicily.
ORIRI is also the title of the homonymous exhibition presented in Palermo at the Sant’Elia Foundation in 2021.
With his photographs, the result of a long period of work in the field, Francesco Bellina recounts a point of view that is rarely exposed: the religious and ritual link between women victims of sexual slavery and exploiters, who often resort to priests of local cults, generally described as voodoo, to create and strengthen the bond of subjection.
The ORIRI project was curated by Studio Forward, which chose to translate Bellina’s narration into graphic form with the aim of enhancing the dichotomy between documentation and narration. The volume is part of a broader process of enhancing the culture of art and design of which Studio Forward is the spokesperson through the genesis of Forward Edizioni, an “author’s” publishing house.
The Volume will subsequently be presented in Milan, at  Antonio Marras’ Despite Marras showroom  with which Bellina has collaborated on other important projects in Palermo.