Shoty Ndjoli, Democratic Republic of Congo, THIRD PLACE WINNER

bite the bitter!

Scar Mask I [2024] recycled aluminium, red beer opener, shell by Shoty Ndjoli

the great forest holds the
secret of many
a jungle of soldiers lose
themselves daily
in the depth of the green
lose their own faces and cut
the roots trees cannot hold
them no more
only care to shoot, not to
collect the fruits of the forest
kongo bololo whispers
— did you know that these
leaves heal? which could ease
the pain
the plant of ancestors
used to cure malaria, clear
the mind it could help the
world heal
but soldiers don´t collect
plants they collect weapons
— did you know that the
antidote of wars grows freely
in the forest?
just out of hand’s reach
but we reach for weapons…

injuries we have a lot
but not enough of kongo bololo
bite the bitter!

so what happens to the faces
which bear the shame of today´s humans
what happens to the faces
distorted, not recognizing their own images
what happens to the faces
full of scars
not only that of the horrors of wars but the
mechanism of hurting what happens to the
faces
where the scars re-draw the lines create new
maps of living
a cartography of pain
forced onto every single face

injuries we have a lot
but not enough of kongo bololo
bite the bitter!

how do we learn to live with our new faces
carrying the scars of thousands
how do we learn to live with our new faces
which are transformed by injuries
how do we learn to live with our new faces
in this new crisis of human identity

injuries we have a lot
but not enough of kongo bololo
bite the bitter!

i cry for new ways of seeing
i cry for old ways of healing

Lingala version

Scar Mask II [2024] recycled aluminium, red beer opener, shell by Shoty Ndjoli

 

 

 

koswa oyo ya bololo!
zamba monene esimbaka basekele ya bato mingi
zamba moko ya basoda
oyo bamibungisaka na bozindo ya vert babungisaka
bilongi na bango moko mpe basundolaka misisa ya
banzete ekoki kosimba bango mingi te
kaka komibanzabanza mpo na ndenge ya kosalela
bibundeli
yekola kobeta masasi, kasi kosangisa te mbuma ya
zamba
bosangisa kongo bololo
— oyebi nkasa oyo ebikisaka?
oyo ekokaki kokitisa mpasi yango molona ya
bankoko
basalelaka mpo na kobikisa malaria mpe kosukola
makanisi
ekokaki kosalisa mpo na kobikisa mokili kasi ba l
okotaka ba makasa te bayanganisaka bibundeli
yango
— oyebaki ete kisi ya libikisi ya bitumba ekolaka na
bonsomi nyonso na zamba? kaka na loboko moko
mpembeni
kasi tosimbaka maboko mpo na bibundeli…

ba pota toza nango mingi kasi kongo bololo mingi te
koswa oyo ya bololo!
bongo nini ekomelaka bilongi oyo ememaka soni ya
bato ya lelo nini ekomelaka bilongi
etenga misi bilongi, bakoki koyeba elongi ya moto
lisusu te
nini ekomelaka bilongi etondi na mpota
bobele oyo ya nsomo ya bitumba te kasi lolenge ya
kosala mpasi
nini ekomelaka bilongi
kobandela kosala mayemi esika oyo ba nzoloko ezo
benda bango lisusu
karte ya sika kozala na bomoi cartographie ya mpasi
batindi ye na makasi na elongi mokomoko

ba pota toza nango mingi
kasi kongo bololo mingi te
koswa oyo ya bololo!

ndenge nini toyekolaka kofanda na bilongi na biso ya sika
komema ba mpota ya bankoto ya bato
ndenge nini toyekolaka kofanda na bilongi na biso ya sika
oyo ebongwanaka na bampota
ndenge nini toyekolaka kofanda na bilongi na biso ya sika
na nkita oyo ya sika ya bomoto na motu

ba pota toza nango mingi
kasi kongo bololo mingi te
koswa oyo ya bololo!

nalelaka ndenge ya sika ya komona
nalelaka ndenge ya kala ya kobikisa

Notes

“Kongo bololo” is the Congolese name for a plant growing in the jungles, widely known in tropical Africa for curing illnesses. In folk medicine, they prepare a bitter tea out of the leaves, which has antimalarial and anti-inflammatory properties.

An estimated 6 million people have been killed by conflict in eastern DRC since 1996. DRC is the second-largest country in Africa, about the size of Western Europe. Today, 7.2 million people are displaced in DRC. 75 percent of the population live on less than 2.15 dollars per day, making DRC one of the poorest countries in the world.

[source: Reliefweb – 10-2024]

Poems and mask creations by © Shoty Ndjoli
Original poem written in Lingala and English

Masks are part of the series “Scar Masks”, 2024, Kampala-Kinshasa

Shoty Ndjoli is an eco-activist visual artist and musician based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. He creates his masks and instruments made out of trash and found objects. Shoty sees his masks as face sculptures, which manipulate the face and thus the identity. For this new work, he created a series of masks, which play with the symbolism of face scars. He creates new faces by mapping the memory of injuries onto them, reminiding us of the challenging landscape in our current human identity crisis.