BENU
BENU is a permanent project conceived by Eugenio Tibaldi within the Casa Circondariale Femminile di Rebibbia, in Rome, developed through a long process of workshops and ongoing exchange with the incarcerated women. Drawing is used as a tool for relationship and collection, bringing together personal stories, desires and images that converge into the shared symbolic form of the phoenix. Two phoenixes, synthesising this process and drawn by Eugenio Tibaldi starting from the women’s drawings, become luminous elements visible both inside and outside the prison. The light they emit is powered by the women themselves, who recharge the batteries by pedalling stationary bicycles, making physical effort an integral part of the work.My contribution takes the form of a process of reading, interpretation and restitution through video and photography, with the aim of observing and rendering visible the complex relationship between the artist, the incarcerated women and the other figures involved. This approach moves through individual fragilities, extended timeframes and evolving relationships, leaving open the possibility of questioning the very meaning of incarceration.
BENU is promoted by Fondazione Severino and Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, curated by Marcello Smarrelli and realised in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo, with the patronage of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See and the Italian Ministry of Justice. The inauguration took place on 10 December 2025 inside the Rebibbia Women’s Prison, in the presence of the Presidente delle Repubblica Sergio Mattarella, who attended the screening of the video documentary I produced.
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