One thing is making great art and another is making an impact, an African Giant Laolu (Olaolu) Senbanjo has achieved that feat. A Nigerian-born artist visual artist, musician, singer/songwriter, and former human rights attorney, Laolu is behind the Yoruba body art. He paints on everything from shoes to jackets, to people.
Laolu Senbanjo graduated as a law student at Nigeria’s University of Ilorin in 2005 and worked as a human rights lawyer for five years. But in 2010, Senbanjo quit his job as a lawyer and started the Laolu Senbanjo Art Gallery in Abuja, Nigeria. However, he moved to Brooklyn, NY in August 2013 to pursue his art career.
He said on twitter a while ago that art allow him to share his experience regarding his heritage “I share my experience as a Yoruba person through art — it’s how I see the world”.
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Laolu Senbanjo is a world-renowned artist who specializes in the Sacred Art of the Yoruba Ori Ritual. Also known as Afromysterics, this art form incorporates African themes and traditions. Senbanjo’s work is incredibly unique and intricate, and he has become one of the most sought-after artists in the world.
For Senbanjo, art is not just about creating beautiful works of art – it is also about connecting with his African heritage and sharing the beauty of African culture with the world. He uses charcoal and distinct patterns to create complex, story-rich art designs that draw heavily on his Yoruba heritage and feature ancient Nigerian symbols and patterns.
His work has been featured in major exhibitions and he has had commissions from, and formed partnerships with, celebrities and brand titans including Nike, Beyoncé’s album Lemonade, the Grammy Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. He has also partnered with Danielle Brooks (who plays Tasha Jefferson on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black). In 2018, Laolu had a collaboration with Starbucks.
Starbucks cup with the Sacred Art of the Yoruba Ori Ritual a pattern – the mystery of the African thought pattern.
Man in Black – BVLGARI Frangrance with the Sacred Art of the Yoruba Ori Ritual pattern -the mystery of the African thought pattern.
