Icinori is a form of graphic and imaginary ecosystem that we build and maintain together.

A duo with a passion for printed images and prints

Icinori is a design duo made up of Mayumi Otero, born in 1985 to a Spanish father and Japanese mother, and Raphaël Urwiller, born in 1984. Both graduates of the École supérieure des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg, they met during their training. In 2008, they set up the experimental publishing house icinori, where they began to develop their own universes, working independently or as a duo. In all their work, their passion for the printed image, printmaking, as well as popular imagery and contemporary drawing emerges in creations bathed in dreaminess.

The Icinori duo's work unfolds in a variety of contexts. For example, they work on drawings and illustrations for the press, including XXI, the New York Times, Le Tigre and Le Monde. At the same time, they create children's albums and publish their pop-ups in silkscreen or artists' books. With Icinori, which is also the name of the associated publishing house, they experiment with printed art and the book object. This non-profit, associative project enables them to publish objects independently: to date, they have published over thirty books in print runs ranging from 50 to 1,500 copies, currently distributed by Serendip and on their website.

Between experimentation and teaching

For Icinori, the essence of their work lies in experimentation. In particular, they are interested in the union between drawing, paper and color, a universe that is openly inspired by Japanese culture, both through its major artists and its popular imagery. With a particularly graphic style, they revisit traditional tales and their imaginary world. A way of paying homage while imposing their own touch on an already well-established world.

Alongside their work as illustrators, the Icinori duo teach at conferences and workshops. They have lectured at La Cambre (Brussels), HEAR (Strasbourg), Saint-Luc (Ghent and Antwerp), École Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Toulouse, Fotokino (Marseille), École des Beaux Arts de Bologne, Los Andes University in Bogota and Tribu dei Lettori in Rome. They have also taken part in residencies and exhibited their work internationally, notably in Seoul, London, Bologna and the French Institutes in Bogota and Barcelona.

A universe supported by the French Institute

The Icinori duo's work has been acclaimed on several occasions, including the Mention Fiction of the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2019, won for Et Puis in 2018, and the Prix Libbylit Bruxelles Ovni category, the same year. For Merci, their imagier aimed at expressing gratitude for an everyday element, they twice benefited from the Aide à la publication de l'Institut français in 2024, both in South Korea and Italy. The translations were published at the end of last year in both countries by Orecchio Acerbo for Italy and Woorischool for South Korea.

Focused on the transfer of rights, the French Institute's Publishing Assistance Program (PAP) supports the work and involvement of foreign publishing houses, which pursue a policy of publishing titles translated from French in order to make contemporary French creation and thought accessible to a non-French-speaking public. Since 1990, these programs have contributed to the publication of nearly 26,000 titles by French authors in 80 countries.