It is no lie that the Yoruba culture in Africa is rich. Laolu Senbanjo, a US-based Nigerian artist, is connecting souls for Africans in the diasporas with his muse.
Laolu, who addressed a large audience at TED reflected on how he started painting.
According to him, he started painting since he was a child. He maintains that he sees what every other people aren’t seeing, and when he sketches them out, it amuses them.
Reflecting on his early stage as an artist, Laolu said; “As a young child all I could picture in my head is art everywhere. Looking at the marble floors in the house we stay at Ilorin, all I could see on the floor is designs. I thought everyone could see them, and when I call my brother to come and see what I’m seeing and they will tell me ‘I’m not seeing anything’, so I will use ink to tease out what I saw on the floor. And when my mom noticed, she got really upset.“
On how he started painting on bodies, Laolu added, “One day I was going through my Instagram and a lady took a picture standing in front of my art. Immediately I saw that photo, something happened that moment. Literarily, I could see my artwork go into her and come out of her at the same time. To be honest, that’s how I started painting on human bodies. As a child I see art on marble floors but now I see it on people’s faces.”
Laolu, who got the shock of his life after receiving a mail from Beyoncé. He revealed, “One day I was just doing my regular work and I got an email that reads; ‘Hi, I’m a big fan of your work, would you like to paint my music video, signed Beyoncé.’ I thought it was a scam because all my thoughts was Beyoncé couldn’t know me. To my amusement, things started moving fast after she dropped her ‘Lemonade’ studio album.”
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