Thursday 28 June 2012

Orfeu Negro & Orfeu Mini



I've spotted books published by Orfeu Negro in various bookshops in Lisbon and can't help but linger over them every time. This Portuguese publisher has been re/producing books exploring critical thinking on various art forms since 2007, such as Le Modular/Modular 2 by Le Corbusier, The Empty Space by Peter Brook and french writer Jacques Rancière's Le Destin des Images, with a beautifully-designed cover by Portuguese studio Alfaiataria, pictured above.





One year after setting up the publishing house, along came Orfeu Mini, the wing that publishes illustrated books for children and grown-ups alike. Orfeu Mini brings the work of Belfast-born Oliver Jeffers to a Portuguese audience (O Coração e a Garrafa has a ring to it, don't you think?), as well as a book (originally in French) by illustrator Delphine Chedru called O Cavaleiro Corragem!/The Courageous Knight! which I bought to read and play (it's one of those ones where you make a choice and it changes what page you turn to). Last year Orfeu Mini published its first original Portuguese book called Greve, illustrator Catarina Sobral's look at what happens (or doesn't happen) when everyone goes on strike, which recently got a special mention by Portugal's National Award for Illustration. Not only does Catarina produce fantastic illustrations and beautiful hand-drawn type, she's also created a little trailer for the book, which you can watch below. At the very bottom, she's made a trailer for Orfeu Negro and Orfeu Mini - enjoy that too! 




(Images and video via Orfeu Negro)