The Crown Remembers — A Yoruba Future, 2126

Inspired by the Met’s Yoruba Adénlá (Big Crown), I reimagined the crown as a living archive of ancestral memory in the year 2126.

Rather than simply creating a futuristic version of the original object, I explored what its symbols, craftsmanship, and connection to Yoruba ancestry could become in the future. Traditional beadwork, ancestral faces, birds, and the ceremonial veil are transformed through futuristic materials, light, and technology while preserving their cultural character.

The final work imagines a future where technological progress has not erased cultural identity. The crown becomes more than royal regalia—it becomes a bridge between generations, carrying the memory of the past into the future.

The central question behind the work: What if, 100 years from now, our most advanced technology is still rooted in the memory of those who came before us?