By Rukudzo Onai
A question is posed in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”: “Why is it that one of the commonest names we give to our children is Nneka, or Mother Is Supreme?” Leading stone sculptor Chango Chitoko answers it with her bold and majestic life-size hornbill sculptures.
Chango celebrates the single mother with mornbill sculptures which usually show Mother Bird in a dominant position, while Father looks away, almost indistinguishable from the nestlings. The hornbill is important to Chitoko’s storytelling because it flies with the wave, embodying the sculptor’s ultramodern philosophy on marriage and family.
Those who want sad stories about women should look elsewhere. “Strong woman, lead!” Chango repeatedly charges with her life-size bird stories.
In one of variation of Chango’s signature piece,
birds are the natural expression of spontanoeus “Freedom”. The winged peace and carefree heaven they embody is what humans aspire to. By contrast, humans are born free but they are in chains everywhere as the philosopher said.
“Freedom” was recently shortlisted for ZimRights’ inaugral Peace Sculpture, the latest jewel in her long list of honors and recognitions.
As she left a warzone, another thinker, Oxana Timofeeva, looked over her shoulder to see Palestians burdened by occupation and discrimination. At the checkpoint, a bird flew above the wall, from one country into the other, “crossing the borders and ignoring the gates.”
“This freedom to fly high above war and hatred is what I dream about in this piece,” Chango explains. “Long may these birds since the songs of peace till restless humankind learns the tune.”
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