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 breathtaking sight, says Yinka Olatunbosun

First, a lump in the throat. Next comes the eerie feeling of the memory evoked by the Ife terracotta heads that occupy the Art Twenty One space inside Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The story behind the sculptural pieces is all too familiar: the agonizing tale of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Chibok, forced into early marriage, motherhood, religious indoctrination and a lasting trauma.

The show which opened in Lagos on November 20 is a project initiated by the French Sculptor Prune Nourry and the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in collaboration 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. Against the backdrop of the global call for girl child education, this travelling exhibition is expected to tour other parts of Africa, Europe, America and Asia. Upon the completion of the tour, the sculptural pieces will be returned to a permanent museum collection in Africa.

For Nourry, this project is based on trust, vested in her by the parents of the kidnapped Chibok girls who provided her with their daughters’ portrait to produced works styled after the iconic ancestral Ife head using clay sourced from Ile Ife. She revealed how this year-long project culminated in a one-day workshop on September 30 and the making of 108 terracotta heads in honour of the Chibok girls.

“When the girls were abducted, I remember that I was travelling with the army of girls that I have done in China to raise consciousness about gender bias. Then when I saw the beautiful ancestral heads, 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 army of girls to make these pieces. The work is for our collective memory for us to remember that these girls still exist,’’ Nourry said at the opening of the show in Lagos.

Nourry’s ‘Terracotta Daughters’ is a phenomenal statement on gender inequality in China using eight hybrid sculptures that combine the style of Terracotta soldiers and the portrait of eight young 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.

Alongside a documentary movie that highlights the making of the project by all participants, the ‘Statues Also Breath’ show runs till February 4, 2023.

It was a mixed feelings moment at the show for one of the rescued Chibok girls, Aminat Ali 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.