Book design for Hure oder Heilige
In seven chapters, Hure oder Heilige – Frau sein in Italien (Whore or Saint – being a woman in Italy) tells of different feminine experiences in a country where the mother figure is adored and at the same time a woman is killed every three days, usually by her partner. Inspired by the seven deadly sins and their antitheses which are the starting points for the artistic-documentary reflection, journalist Barbara Bachmann and photographer Franziska Gilli get to the bottom of the question: What does it mean to be a woman in Italy today?
A couple’s attempt at equality during the Covid-19 pandemic, a young woman and her urge to control her body, a mother and her violent experiences during childbirth, eleven men and their personal images of women … The book’s protagonists represent a wide spectrum of opinions, and as different as their perspectives are, as different is the design of the chapters, which responds sensitively to the complex content and yet unifies it. Four shades of red, from a warm orange to strong bordeaux, sometimes used across the entire surface, then delicately, convey emotions ranging from anger and sorrow to strength and endurance. The duality of the provocatively chosen title, which refers to the outdated classification of women into “good” and “evil,” is continued on the dividing pages of the chapters. The sins and virtues, however, overwrite themselves, at times erasing each other and yet remaining legible – the effort to freeing oneself from stereotypical role models is an ongoing battle that feminists in Italy and around the world must fight to this day.
