The Nigerian Artist Behind The Body Art In Beyoncé's "Lemonade"

Artist, Beyoncé, recently released a new album titled "Lemonade" and in the monochrome section entitled Apathy, her background dancers were seen wearing intricate white body paint while riding in a metal bus and moving to the album's fourth track, "Sorry."

Beyoncé was later seen with a small amount of body art; white dots were delicately placed above the curve of her eyebrows and dragged from her lower eyelid to her cheeks, representing tear lines.

These ornate body designs were done by a Nigerian artist, Laolu Senbanjo. He was formerly a human rights attorney in Lagos, but took up Art full time after moving from Lagos to Brooklyn. He calls his body painting artworks “The Sacred Art of the Ori”, noting that the origin of this practice derives from a spiritual Yoruba ritual.

"In my language, Yoruba 'Ori' literally means your essence, your soul, your destiny," Laolu explains in his artist statement. "When I work with a muse, the muse, their Ori, and I become one. It's the deepest, most spiritual experience I've ever had with my art as an artist."

Refusing to be constrained to any one canvas, Senbanjo’s distinctive style can be found on everything from sneakers—his limited-edition collaboration with Nike sold out earlier this year—to murals, and of course, the human body. Senbanjo’s artwork covers his subjects from head to toe in patterns meant to represent the essence of their beings. More of his designs can be seen on his Instagram page and also his Website