Laolu Senbanjo: "The Sacred Art of the Ori"
Laolu Senbanjo: El sagrado arte de los Ori
Laolu Senbanjo's motto is: “Everything is my canvas.” Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
todos los que Europa ha tenido,]
surpass all that Europe ever had,]
to me when I was a child in Nigeria.
en Nigeria cuando era niño.
of the Yoruba people,
de alabanza del pueblo Yoruba,
of treasures that the West does not have.
de los tesoros que el Occidente no tiene.
I call my grandmother --
about Yoruba mythology.
de la mitología Yoruba.
from the southwestern part of Nigeria,
del sudeste de Nigeria,
by these stories.
my art since I was a child.
mi arte desde que era niño.
you buy at Harlem markets in New York.
en el mercado de Harlem en Nueva York.
todos tienen una historia.
on her arms and her legs.
en sus brazos y piernas.
she was born with them,
que había nacido con ellos
and detailed symbols.
y símbolos detallados.
símbolos de la mitología Yoruba.
from the Yoruba mythology.
to influence the artist that I am today.
a influirme como artista ahora.
I saw art everywhere.
veía el arte en todos lados.
in Ilorin, in Stadium Road.
en Ilorin, en la calle Estadio,
y ¿saben?, miraba el piso de mármol,
at the marble floors,
of patterns and designs in it,
y pensaba que todos los veían.
and I would be like,
a mi hermano y le decía,
see this pattern, see this mask."
mira el patrón, mira la máscara".
"Laolu, I don't see anything."
what I saw on the floor.
lo que veía en el piso.
she got really upset.
se dio cuenta se enojó mucho.
with my teachers and my parents.
con mis maestros y padres.
"Laolu, we are Christians.
"Laolu, somos cristianos.
or maybe you draw chairs or furniture,
sillas de madera, o incluso a Jesús?"
the whole house if I had a chance,
toda la casa si hubiese podido,
I knew being an artist was not an option,
que ser artista no era una opción,
my parents wanted me to be,
que mis padres quería que fuera,
He was so proud that day.
estaba muy orgulloso ese día.
looked like in law school.
estuve en esa escuela.
inventaba excusas del porqué.
why I wasn't going to class.
at the Human Rights Commission
en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos
tenían que elegir entre estudiar
between getting an education
seeing all the injustice around me,
toda la injusticia a mi alrededor,
is controlled by where we are born.
es controlado por el lugar donde nacemos.
a man and a man holding hands,
a dos hombres tomados de la mano,
same-sex relationship is criminalized.
del mismo sexo están penalizadas.
iniciar a una conversación.
I like to start a conversation.
pueden ver preguntas y llanto,
plugged into Africa
being drained out.
naturales son saqueados.
¿Quién se beneficia con esto?
the patterns, the masks, the stories,
con esos patrones, máscaras e historias,
todo es de la cultura Yoruba.
to practice art full time.
a Nueva York a hacer arte de lleno.
He'll come back."
in New York was not easy,
en Nueva York nu fue fácil,
no representation,
ninguna galería quería mostrar mi trabajo.
to make a living.
pinturas en ropa.
cosas para la gente.
to wear their stories.
de portar sus historias.
a hacer pinturas en todo.
hice pinturas murales,
my hand on I painted,
y de todo hice un lienzo.
on my Instagram feed,
de Instagram, vi esta foto.
standing in front my art,
frente a mi arte,
esa foto, algo pasó.
go into her and come out of her literally,
entraba y salía de ella,
on human bodies.
en cuerpos humanos.
and people's bodies.
y cuerpo de las personas.
most of my creative instincts
de mis instintos creativos
on my childhood memories
and I think to myself, like,
que pinté y pienso,
if we all walked around
si caminásemos desnudos
from Yoruba mythology?
de la mitología Yoruba?
The Sacred Art of the Ori was born.
"El sagrado arte de los Ori".
it means your instincts.
la esencia, los instintos.
when you tap into your Ori,
tocando nuestro Ori,
about painting on human bodies.
es algo muy inmediato.
my regular work in Brooklyn,
como cualquier día,
admiradora de tu trabajo.
for my music video?
para mi video musical?"
how did she even know me?
Of course I thought it was a scam.
que era un fraude, obviamente.
it was real, it was true,
era verdad, y todo pasó muy rápido.
to pay homage to New Orleans,
homenaje a Nueva Orléans,
of her creole origins.
sus orígenes criollos.
from zero to 100 real fast.
and, like, take everything in.
we work so hard all our lives
muy duro toda nuestra vida
y por ello me sentía dichoso.
in me is still there,
to fight for what I believe in.
para pelear por lo que creo.
some of my art in motion.
un poco de mi arte en movimiento.
I ever painted in my life,
que pinté en mi vida,
my hopes and my fears.
mis esperanzas y miedos.
one huge, nameless continent
un continente enorme sin nombre
over 350 ethnic groups and languages,
grupos étnicos e idiomas,
that I hope I will be able to change
que deseo poder cambiar
on the continent and here,
al arte africano en el continente y aquí,
at Harlem markets in New York
en los mercados de Harlem en Nueva York
you see has a story,
que ven tiene una historia,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laolu Senbanjo - Artist, musician, lawyer, activistLaolu Senbanjo's motto is: “Everything is my canvas.”
Why you should listen
A visual artist, musician, human rights lawyer and activist, Laolu Senbanjo puts his mark on everything from canvas, to shoes, to walls and buildings, to clothing and even the body with his Sacred Art of the Ori. Born and raised in Ilorin, Nigeria, his Yoruba heritage is ever-present in his work, which marries modern detail and ornate style to create a vision of Afrofuturism.
His preferred medium is charcoal, "because it’s something as natural as life and death," he writes, and he also works in acrylics, inks and even wood. Senbanjo created work for the astonishing "Sorry" video from Beyoncé's Lemonade, and he has worked with Angelique Kidjo, Kenneth Cole, Alicia Keys, Usher and many more.
Laolu Senbanjo | Speaker | TED.com