Binance NFT Marketplace Announces Exclusive NFT Collection ‘Time To Heal’ With Djimon Hounsou And LÁOLÚ

We're thrilled to announce that Beninese-American Hollywood star and model, Djimon Hounsou and famous Nigerian painter, LÁOLÚ will be exhibiting their digital artist series, “Time To Heal”, on the Binance NFT Marketplace. The new collaboration is for Binance Charity’s NFT For Good Campaign, which enables creators to convert their art and creativity into meaningful global action targeting social and humanitarian issues.

Djimon Hounsou who portrayed Cinqué in Steven Spielberg's Amistad, Solomon Vandy in Blood Diamond and Shola in The King's Man, will be body painted by LÁOLÚ, the Nigerian artist behind the body art in Beyoncé’s Grammy award-winning Lemonade. The abstract image of Djimon will then be projected on a physical canvas and subsequently converted to a digital NFT version. 

This collection is be available from 2021-11-10 04:00 PM (UTC) to 2021-11-19 04:59 AM (UTC) on the Binance NFT Marketplace. View the full "Time to Heal" collection

What’s In The Collection? 

“Time To Heal” consists of five limited-edition unique animated portraits and one surprise static portrait minted 1000 times that features Djimon Hounsou as a canvas onto which artist LÁOLÚ applied his famous body art known as the “Sacred Art of the Orí”. 

In this special collaboration, LÁOLÚ painted Yoruba patterns and symbols related to alertness, compassion, and the quest for freedom onto Djimon’s head, right hand, and left shoulder. The result is an external reflection of Djimon’s inner essence as an African warrior of light. 

From left to right on the top: Ìyàraẹniṣọtọ II, Inúfùfù and Ikọjalẹ

From left to right at the bottom: Ìyàraẹniṣọtọ 1, Mo Gbàá and ọwọ Adura.

• Ìyàraẹniṣọtọ II

In Yoruba, we say “Ko ju maribi,” meaning that the eye might see no evil and that the entire body is the antidote.

• Inúfùfù

Anger, or Inúfùfù in Yoruba, though frowned upon, should be embraced as a means to arrive somewhere better & be more aware.

• Ikọjalẹ

In Yoruba Ikọjalẹ means denial. Throughout the grieving process we experience many emotions that lead us to reconciliation.

• Ìyàraẹniṣọtọ 1

In the journey towards healing, it is imperative that you first isolate yourself in order to acknowledge the feelings evoked.

• Mo Gbàá

With this piece, we reach a point of ‘Mo Gbàá,’ best translated as ‘acceptance’. The bright, orange color encourages freedom.

• ọwọ Adura (A surprise, exclusive static portrait of Djimon Hounsou) 

ọwọ Adura symbolizes a state of prayer. In this instance, for reconciliation, reconnection and restoration.

All NFTs except “ọwọ Adura” are one-and-only and available via auction, starting from 15,000 BUSD. ọwọ Adura will be available via a fixed price at 350 BUSD with 1,000 pieces only. 

NFT Art For Good

A percentage of proceeds will be given to the Djimon Hounsou Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to reconnect the African Diaspora with the motherland and fight modern-day slavery & human trafficking.

This is the most recent collaboration for Binance Charity’s NFT For Good Campaign, which enables creators to convert their art and creativity into meaningful global action targeting social and humanitarian issues.“I feel this compelling need, this inherent obligation to give back to my continent, to my people, and to champion the idea of reconciliation and reconnection.” says Djimon.

LÁOLÚ added: “There is so much we can do when we come together. Through my work, I’ve always sought to connect the world to my Yoruba roots. With this project, we’re doing that on a large scale by sharing not only our own stories but that of the diaspora within the digital landscape.” 

“Nearly 4 times as many people live in modern-day slavery than during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We know the blockchain is a powerful tool that can be used to help tackle complex and horrific social issues - such as this - from tackling corruption to increasing transparency to promoting financial freedom to providing new fundraising streams such as the recent NFT boom. Cross-industry collaborations such as this one between Djimon, his foundation, Láolú and Binance are essential to help harness this potential and drive forward blockchain for good.” comments Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity and Binance NFT.

Existing Binance users can access and trade NFTs on the Binance NFT marketplace. If you’re a new user, you can register on Binance.com. We’ve also recently added multi-chain support for NFT deposits and withdrawals. Users can now transfer their NFTs to and from BNB Chain (former BSC) and Ethereum networks with ease.  

Visit Binance NFT for updates on the latest drops and upcoming NFT collections. Are you an artist or creator interested in collaborating with Binance NFT? Drop us a line at nft@binance.com.  

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