Sierra Leonean Technologist teams with American Sculptor to create GIF inspired Stop-motion Afrobeat music video..

Joey Foster Ellis is the American Sculptor, although I know him as the son of our Cornell friends, the one who decided to cross California Street in San Francisco all by himself, when he was about 10, without considering where his family and friends might be headed, nor whether the approaching cable car, clanging with great enthusiasm, might intersect with his path.

He has been on that same path from Upstate New York to China, where he became the first American graduate of the prestigious China Central Academy of Fine Arts, to Doha and Kathmandu and Juarez and Delhi and Istanbul.

He is curious and insatiable and delightful. His work has been showcased at The Smithsonian Institution's 40 Under 40 exhibition at the Renwick. He's one to watch, and I'd say that even if he weren't my friend... and my friends' son..... and a really great guy.

The video is spoken in Sierra Leonean Krio, and I heard some English in there, too. I'll admit that I went with the flow, watched the images, and didn't worry too much about the lyrics as I watched it the first two times. I'm ready for another exploration, and this time, I'll have the producer's words as a guide:

It’s not about race and it’s not about looks.

It’s about how new experiences not only replace old ones but provide layered views of how we see ourselves, and the world we inhabit.