The exhibition 'Statues Also Breathe' has opened at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech. Curated by Meriem Berrada, the installation features 108 terracotta heads created by artist Prune Nourry in collaboration with artisans and students. The work draws inspiration from the historic sculptural tradition of Ife in Nigeria while directly addressing the ongoing trauma of the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, using portraiture to represent the missing.
The exhibition is a significant act of collective remembrance and political witness, transforming sculpture into a space for mourning and solidarity. It challenges institutional norms by reactivating ancestral artistic forms to address contemporary crises, asserting that cultural heritage is a living language. The project situates a specific tragedy within a broader continuum of cultural resilience and shared humanity, using MACAAL's platform to keep the story of the Chibok girls visible and to explore the ethics of representation.