Chibok Girls Remembered in New Sculptures
Titled ‘’Statues Also Breath,’’ a collaborative visual art project domiciled in Art Twenty One, involving potters from Ilorin, visual arts students from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and a French multi-disciplinary artist, Prune Nourry is indeed a b
First,alumpinthethroat.Nextcomesthe eeriefeelingofthememoryevokedby theIfeterracottaheadsthatoccupythe ArtTwentyOnespaceinsideEkoHotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The storybehindthesculpturalpiecesisalltoofamiliar: the agonizing tale of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Chibok, forced into early marriage, motherhood, religious indoctrination and a lasting trauma.
TheshowwhichopenedinLagosonNovember 20isaprojectinitiatedbytheFrenchSculptorPrune NourryandtheDepartmentofFineandAppliedArts, ObafemiAwolowoUniversity,IleIfeincollaboration with the families of the Chibok girls kidnapped by insurgents in Northern Nigeria in 2014. Produced by Ade Bantu, the not-for-sale work is inspired by the ancient Ife terracotta heads to raise awareness about the plight of the girls- still missing till date. Againstthebackdropoftheglobalcallforgirlchild education, this travelling exhibition is expected to tour other parts of Africa, Europe, America and Asia.Uponthecompletionofthetour,thesculptural pieces will be returned to a permanent museum collection in Africa.
For Nourry, this project is based on trust, vested inherbytheparentsofthekidnappedChibokgirls who provided her with their daughters’ portrait to
producedworksstyledaftertheiconicancestralIfe headusingclaysourcedfromIleIfe.Sherevealed howthisyear-longprojectculminatedinaone-day workshop on September 30 and the making of 108terracottaheadsinhonouroftheChibokgirls.
“Whenthegirlswereabducted,Irememberthat I was travelling with the army of girls that I have doneinChinatoraiseconsciousnessaboutgender bias.ThenwhenIsawthebeautifulancestralheads, I thought as a sculptor, it is my dream one day to go to Ife, use the clay and make a collaboration with the university community to create a rising armyofgirlstomakethesepieces.Theworkisfor our collective memory for us to remember that these girls still exist,’’ Nourry said at the opening of the show in Lagos.
Nourry’s‘TerracottaDaughters’isaphenomenal statement on gender inequality in China using eight hybrid sculptures that combine the style of Terracottasoldiersandtheportraitofeightyoung Chinese girls. With the help of artisan-copyists from Xi’an, she created an army of 108 unique combinations from the eight original molds. After touring with the work, she buried them in an undisclosed location in China.
Alongsideadocumentarymoviethathighlights the making of the project by all participants, the ‘StatuesAlsoBreath’showrunstillFebruary4,2023.
It was a mixed feelings moment at the show foroneoftherescuedChibokgirls,AminatAli who escaped from Sambisa forest.
“I feel excited and sad,’’ she began. “I am happy this project has given me the opportunity to meet many people and get support. The show will let the world know that people are still worried about the missing schoolgirls. Even the government is not talking anymore about this.
“I can remember some of my friends that we sued to play and fetch water together. Out of the five of us held in one place, I was the only one who escaped and I am not happy because I want the other girls to come back.’’
The Chairman of the missing Chibok Girls’ Parents’ Association, Mr. Yakubu Nkeki saluted the organisers of the project in a brief remark.
“The initiative is a good one. By modeling the images of the Chibok girls, we remember the forgotten history. The worst part of this is that almost eight years later, these girls are still in captivity. Some of the rescued ones came back with children having been married to these militants. They need support, encouragement and nutrition. I am appealing to the government to rehabilitate these girls so that they can live normal lives,’’ he said.