For artist Laolu Senbanjo, everything is his canvas – even the human body.
It seemed that Nike was the Nigerian artist’s first largest platform to feature his work with a shoe collaboration, but in a previous interview with ESSENCE Senbanjo shared that his feature in Beyoncé’s Lemonade actually came first.
Meet Laolu Senbanjo, the Nigerian Artist Behind the Body Art in Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’
“Beyoncé actually happened before Nike,” he disclosed. “I couldn’t talk about it at all,” he said, telling ESSENCE that he’d been “walking out and about with this big secret and this big smile on [his] face.”
Senbanjo definitely has a lot to continue smiling about this week.
Wednesday, Beyoncé finally released her first video from the visual-album on YouTube, which showcases Senbanjo’s “Sacred Art of the Ori,” and this Friday, June 24th the Grammy Museum, in partnership with BET International, will be recognizing his work in their “Sounds of Africa” exhibit in Los Angeles.
The exhibit will run through Fall of 2016.
“We are beyond excited about this tribute to legendary, traditional and contemporary African music artists,” said Ava Hall, Vice President of BET International Programming and Brand Advancement, in a statement.
Senbanjo, who shares the same sentiment of excitement, posted on Instagram, “The only thing better than winning a Grammy is having your art in their museum.”
For more information about the exhibit, click here.
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