Kitinga bashenyi

Kitinga bashenyi is a metaphor from my dialect Hunde that means “When the sun appeared in the evening in the middle of the forest, suddenly it disappeared and then darkness appeared. When women collect firewood for cooking, they gasp, there is no more sunlight when it is time to go back home. They suddenly found that they could not see the road to go home and get confused.” 

This is the kind of peace that is being brought to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on papers and news but is a reality which my people have never experienced.  This is the experience of people in the east of DRC that still encounter the darkness of enduring war. Looking back on my life experiences back home, I realized that I have messages to share with people. The messages are about the women, children and vulnerable people.  

The question became how may I transfer this message through a language?  

This is how I started to draw and make embroidery which was to express my thoughts and share messages with people who are willing to hear my voice. In my embroidery, each stitch I use to show the suffering of my people in my village.   
 
In 2019 I was given a chance to make a solo exhibition at Objectspace, Auckland which depicted awareness for peace and to share awareness: people together to build peace for the whole world. My artwork tells the story about my experience, my people and adversity of ongoing war that is happening in my country, and how we can be the solution for peace in DRC and globally across the world.   

This exhibition contains references to war, displacement, violence, and sexual trauma. Visitors please take care while engaging with the exhibition.

                                                            
About the artist

A little bit about me, my name is Lema Shamamba and I was born and raised in Bweremana, a district of Masisi in the eastern territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There are more than 200 Congolese ethnic groups in the DRC, and my family belong to Hunde ethnic group, the indigenous people of Masisi district.  

In my local community in West Auckland, I am known affectionately as ‘Mama Lema’, and I have worked closely with the Ranui Action Project and the fondant of the group Women of Hope which is a project to reduce the isolation that refugee migrant families often experience. I came to Aotearoa, New Zealand in 2009 with my trees and children as refugees.  


Centre Amani 

All proceeds from this exhibition will go towards the Centre Amani, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Peace Centre which is a safe space; a community centre where children and young people in Bweremana have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.  

The DRC has been devastated by war for many years and it is hardly possible to imagine a more vulnerable group of children and families than those living in Bweremana, near the city of Goma in the east of the DRC. This political situation means that there are ongoing disturbances and unrest in the area.  
More information here. 

Images courtesy of the artist