Name: 【TED】Laolu Senbanjo: "The Sacred Art of the Ori" ("The Sacred Art of the Ori" | Laolu Senbanjo)
Uploaded: 2017-09-11T15:55:29.000Z
Duration: 8 min 51 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

[whose wealth and resources surpass all that Europe ever had,]

My grandmother used to sing it to me when I was a child in Nigeria.

See, an oríkì is the song of praise of the Yoruba people,

and this particularly speaks of treasures that the West does not have.

Mama -- that's what I call my grandmother --

told me many stories about Yoruba mythology.

You see, the Yorubas are an ethnic group from the southwestern part of Nigeria,

and I was always fascinated by these stories.

And Yoruba culture has inspired my art since I was a child.

You see, African art is not just what you buy at Harlem markets in New York.

See, mama had tattoos on her arms and her legs.

As a child, I thought she was born with them,

with beautiful black lines and detailed symbols.

that they were actually symbols from the Yoruba mythology.

I never knew how this was going to influence the artist that I am today.

You see, as a young child, I saw art everywhere.

I remember the house we lived in in Ilorin, in Stadium Road.

and you know, I would look at the marble floors,

and I would see all sorts of patterns and designs in it,

So I would call my brother, and I would be like,

"Ikeolu, come and see this marble design, see this pattern, see this mask."

And he would tell me, "Laolu, I don't see anything."

So I would use ink, and I would trace out what I saw on the floor.

And then when my mom noticed, she got really upset.

because I got in trouble a lot with my teachers and my parents.

So I remember my mom said, "Laolu, we are Christians.

Why don't you draw landscapes or maybe you draw chairs or furniture,

You know, I could paint the whole house if I had a chance,

but when I grew up, I knew being an artist was not an option,

so I wanted to be the person my parents wanted me to be,

Of course, that's my dad there. He was so proud that day.

And this was what my notebooks looked like in law school.

and I would make up excuses why I wasn't going to class.

But when I started working at the Human Rights Commission

who had to choose between getting an education

I was so frustrated seeing all the injustice around me,

the fact that our future is controlled by where we are born.

Now, the next one you see a man and a man holding hands,

You see, in Nigeria, same-sex relationship is criminalized.

Through my art, I like to start a conversation.

So in this one, you see the map of Africa,

and there you see syringes plugged into Africa

and the natural resources being drained out.

the way I weave my art around the patterns, the masks, the stories,

I quit my job and I moved to New York City to practice art full time.

"Oh, [it's just a phase.] He'll come back."

But life as an artist in New York was not easy,

no money, no gallery agents, no representation,

So I thought to myself, I need to survive.

So I started painting on clothes to make a living.

because people were so proud to wear their stories.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

【TED】Laolu Senbanjo: "The Sacred Art of the Ori" ("The Sacred Art of the Ori" | Laolu Senbanjo)

applause

realize

frustrated

feature