As part of plans to celebrate Bob Marley’s 75th post-humous birthday, a new music video has been released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Redemption Song.
Created by French artists Octave Marsal & Theo De Gueltz, the breathtaking animation, featuring 2,747 original drawings, uses powerful symbols to amplify the magnitude of the song’s timeless lyrics and importance in today’s world.
Inspired by Bob’s homeland of Jamaica, the artistic approach was to illustrate the imaginary world of Bob Marley in a way that highly stimulates self-reflection. “From the history of Slavery and Jamaica, Rastafarian culture, legacy of prophets (Haile Selassie the 1st, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X), as well as Bob’s personal life, we take the audience on a journey through allegories and representations,” Marsal reveals.
The opening sequence invites the viewer into Bob’s guitar, a visual metaphor to Bob’s mind, and our own, in a quest for Redemption. Also, drawing from Rastafarian philosophy, another vital element of the video’s narrative is about valuing nature, our Earth and the Mother Land
The video highlights the contributions of Bob Marley to the empowerment of black civilization, as well as his manifestation of hope and recovery for all mankind.
The new Redemption Song video can be watched on Bob Marley’s YouTube page.