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Yinka Ilori

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Yinka Ilori MBE (born April 1987) is a British artist and designer known for his bold use of bright colours and playful designs for furniture and public spaces.[1][2][3] His work includes architecture, interior design, graphic design, textiles, sculpture, and furniture.[4] It includes storytelling using design as a medium, referencing his British and Nigerian heritage.

Yinka Ilori
MBE
Ilori in 2021
BornApril 1987
London, England
NationalityBritish
EducationSt Jude and St Paul's CoE Primary School
Alma materLondon Metropolitan University
Occupations
  • Artist
  • Designer
Years active2009–present
HonoursMember of the British Empire
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

The New York Times Style Magazine described Ilori as "one of '12 Talents Shaping the Design World'", and Abitare referred to him as belonging "to a more open-minded and inclusive generation that sees design as offering a possible response to social and environmental changes."[5][6]

Early life and education

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Ilori grew up in a multicultural neighbourhood on Essex Road in Islington and attended St Jude and St Paul's Church of England Primary School.[7][8]

His father was a store manager for B&Q and his mother worked as an events caterer.[2][9][10] Ilori recalls the vibrant outfits worn by his parents' friends and family at house parties when he was little.[11][12] Visiting Nigeria as a child had an important impact on him and helped him better understand his family's cultural heritage.[4][13][14]

Ilori studied art and design (with a focus on furniture and product design) at London Metropolitan University from 2006 to 2009.[4][2]

Career

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The Colour Palace, Dulwich Pavilion (with Pricegore architects)
 
Blackfriars Road mural
 
Happy Street, Thessaly Road bridge
 
Happy Street (another view)

After completing his degree, Ilori worked as an intern with furniture designer Lee Broom.[2][13] His first solo work was supported by a £3,500 grant from The Prince's Trust.[15][16][17] He began his professional practice in 2011, initially by upcycling second-hand furniture, and taking inspiration from the colour and design aesthetic of West African textiles.[18] Early in his career, he worked at a Marks & Spencer store in Moorgate. The company later hired him to design products, including a recyclable carrier bag.[19]

Ilori's mixed cultural heritage is an influence in his work. The Nigerian parables his parents told him as a child have become a major source of inspiration for his designs.[2][13] In 2013, one such parable, "No matter how long the neck of a giraffe is, it still cannot see the future", led to a five-piece collection of chairs which Ilori transformed from broken and cast-off furniture into abstract, brightly coloured new works of art "to share a lesson from this childhood story — that we should not be judgemental".[4][20][21]

More recently, he has created public works and installations such as Happy Street, in which he transformed a railway bridge underpass at Nine Elms with brightly coloured murals;[22] The Colour Palace at Dulwich Picture Gallery, a temporary pavilion described as "a testament to universal themes of [colour], pattern, and celebration";[23] and Get Up Stand Up at Somerset House, which "celebrates half a century of black creativity in the UK" and was called "a riot of colour and pattern".[24][25]

Ilori founded his design studio in 2015.[13] The practice includes architects and designers for whom colour is a key interest.[2][15] As his team has expanded, Ilori has been able to take on larger-scale architectural and interior design projects.[15] His clients include companies such as Adidas, Kvadrat, Lego, Meta, Nike, Pepsi, and SCP, as well as the NHS Foundation Trust for which he created works for the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and Springfield University Hospital.[26][27][18][28][4]

In 2020 he launched an eponymous homeware brand which manufactures and distributes his own products.[29][16][30] He was also awarded the Emerging Design Medal by the London Design Festival.[31]

Ilori collaborated with British stage designer Es Devlin on the design of the Britannia statuettes for the 2021 BRIT Awards.[32]

In 2022 Ilori designed a playground named The Flamboyance of Flamingos in Parsloes Park, East London.[33][30] In the same year, the Design Museum in London staged an exhibition of his work featuring 100 of his projects as well as "Canary Wharf's first ever basketball court."[34][35][36] His work has also been exhibited in museums such as the V&A Dundee,[37] Vitra Design Museum in Basel,[38] and the Guggenheim Bilbao,[39] and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York as part of the Afrofuturist Period Room.[40][41]

Ilori has said, "I use colour as a way of starting a conversation. It's quite a nice way of opening up a topic and softening what could be a harsh reality",[42] and is quoted in The Guardian as saying, "My work is very much about inclusivity and how people enjoy design."[2] He lives and works in London, and was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 New Year's Honours.[43][44][45][3]

According to the architect David Adjaye, Ilori's work "transcends just function and product and acts as a device for cultural memory".[5]

In July 2024, Ilori was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) "for his outstanding contributions to art and design."[46]

In September 2024, Ilori has introduced a new clothing collection in collaboration with The North Face, featuring his trademark vibrant patterns.[47] The NSE collection (Never Stop Exploring) has been described by the brand as its "most playful" to date. It includes a range of items such as rain jackets, fleeces, sweatshirts, trousers, t-shirts, and a bag.[48]

Selected projects

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  • 2019 Colour Palace, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK[49]
  • 2019 Happy Street, London Festival of Architecture and Wandsworth Council, UK[50]
  • 2020 Colorama skate park, La Condition Publique cultural centre, Lille, France[51][52]
  • 2021 Laundrette of Dreams, Lego Collaboration, London, UK[1][53]
  • 2021 Transparency in Shades of Colour, London, UK[54]
  • 2021 Bring London Together, UK[55]
  • 2021 The Sound of Movement, Labrum London,[56] Spring-Summer 2022 show, UK[57]
  • 2021 Lick x Yinka Ilori Maximalist Brights, Wallpaper collection[58]
  • 2021 sonsbeek20→24 Sonsbeek, Arnhem, Netherlands[59]
  • 2021 Dodge, Somerset House, London, UK[60]
  • 2021 Promise me memories and I will let you in, Greenwich Peninsula, London, UK[61]
  • 2022 Layers of Movement, Meta, London, UK[62]
  • 2022 The Flamboyance of Flamingos, Parsloes Park Play Area, East London, UK[63]
  • 2023 From Greener Pastures, Labrum London, Autumn–Winter 2023 show, UK[64]
  • 2023 Public Art Piece, The Rowe (Central House, former London Metropolitan University Cass School of Architecture), London, UK[65]
  • 2023 Types of Happiness, The Line art trail, London, UK[66]
  • 2024 Omi Okun, commission for Art on The Mart, Chicago, US[67][68]
  • 2024 Shaped to the Measure of the People’s Songs: Reflection in Numbers pavilion, HKW, Berlin, Germany[69][70]
  • 2024 Slices of Peace, Orchard Park, Kent, UK (with Peter Adjaye)[71][72]

Exhibitions

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Solo

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  • 2013 It Started With a Parable, Jaguar Shoes, London Design Week[73]
  • 2014 This is Where It Started, The Whitespace Gallery, Lagos[74]
  • 2015 If Chairs Could Talk, The Shop At Bluebird[75][76]
  • 2022 Yinka Ilori: Parables for Happiness, the Design Museum, London[77]

Group

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Publications

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  • Pricegore & Yinka Ilori: Dulwich Pavilion. Dingle Price, Alex Gore, Job Floris, Sumayya Vally, Yinka Ilori Studio, Pricegore. Zurich. 2021. ISBN 3-03860-233-7. OCLC 1224160677.[82]
  • Reynolds, Jason (2018). For every one. London. ISBN 978-1-9996425-3-2. OCLC 1063638673.[83] (cover design by Yinka Ilori)

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Lego Group unveils 'Launderette of Dreams', an installation by artist Yinka Ilori that celebrates how children use play to rebuild the world around them". Lego. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sunshine, Becky (14 June 2020). "'Architecture and design should be for everyone': Yinka Ilori's colourful world". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N20.
  4. ^ a b c d e Burman, Sujata (18 September 2020). "The British Nigerian designer making technicolor adult playgrounds". CNN. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b Sharma, Meara (4 October 2021). "The Artist Who Dreamed Up a Kaleidoscopic Basketball Court for London's Canary Wharf". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  6. ^ Trombetta, Luca (27 August 2022). "Yinka Ilori, the power of colour". Abitare. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Artist Yinka Ilori Visits SJSP!". St Jude & St Paul’s. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  8. ^ "My city life: Yinka Ilori". The Royal Exchange. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  9. ^ Colquhoun, Joe (29 October 2021). "Lego and artist Yinka Ilori partner to create the Launderette of Dreams". Famous Campaigns. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  10. ^ Aouf, Rima Sabina (28 October 2021). "Yinka Ilori builds colourful Lego launderette in East London". Dezeen. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  11. ^ Aron, Isabelle (19 July 2021). "Artist Yinka Ilori on design shops and wild nights in Islington". Time Out London. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  12. ^ Das, Jareh. "The Colorful Nostalgia of Yinka Ilori's Designs". www.culturedmag.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Barrett, Helen (3 April 2020). "Yinka Ilori: 'Why should I feel like I don't belong?'". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  14. ^ Tindall, Sofia (12 May 2021). "Artist Yinka Ilori on Finding Inspiration in Lockdown". Country and Town House. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  15. ^ a b c "About — Yinka Ilori". Yinka Ilori Studio. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b Maitland, Hayley (1 December 2020). "Yinka Ilori's Joyful Homewares Are the Colourful Boost Your Flat Needs This Winter". British Vogue. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Artist 101 | 5 Things to Know About Yinka Ilori". Bonhams. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  18. ^ a b Connolly, Holly. "Interior Escapism: Yinka Ilori on Transforming Life Through Color". GOAT. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Marks & Spencer Teams Up With Artist Yinka Ilori". Art Plugged. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Yinka Ilori's New 20-Piece Homeware Collection Merges African and English Customs". Design Indaba. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  21. ^ Chutel, Lynsey (9 March 2017). "A British-Nigerian designer tells modern African parables with chairs you can't sit on". Quartz. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Happy Street". Architecture Today. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  23. ^ Pownall, Augusta. "'The Colour Palace': Pricegore and Yinka Ilori chosen for second Dulwich Pavilion". Dulwich Picture Gallery. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Yinka Ilori designs Somerset House exhibition celebrating 50 years of black creativity". Dezeen. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Yinka Ilori, Types of Happiness, 2019". The Line. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Yinka Ilori Studio Collection". SCP. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  27. ^ Williams, Megan (8 August 2019). "Premium water brand Arto LIFEWTR aims to give a canvas to artists". Creative Review. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  28. ^ Dodds, Rosanna (20 January 2023). "Inside the spaces that care". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  29. ^ "Yinka Ilori Homeware". Yinka Ilori Store. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  30. ^ a b Bertoli, Rosa (15 September 2022). "At home with Yinka Ilori". Wallpaper. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  31. ^ "Yinka Ilori recognised for impact on design scene". London Metropolitan University. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  32. ^ Bertoli, Rosa (28 April 2021). "Brit Awards 2021 winners to receive trophies by Yinka Ilori and Es Devlin". Wallpaper. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  33. ^ Buck, Louisa (21 January 2022). "Power to the people: London's new public art gives a glimmer of hope in gloomy times". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  34. ^ Tagliabue, Francesca (11 January 2023). "Yinka Ilori on show at the Design Museum in London". Abitare. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  35. ^ Adams, Shawn (27 September 2022). "The Design Museum celebrates Yinka Ilori's world". Wallpaper. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  36. ^ Galli, Antonella. "Design that unites: Yinka Ilori's colourful metaphors". Floornature. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  37. ^ "Yinka Ilori: Listening to Joy". Victoria and Albert Museum Dundee. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  38. ^ Treggiden, Katie (16 February 2021). "Yinka Ilori Turns Discarded Chairs into Sculptural Pieces with a Story". Design Milk. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  39. ^ a b "Making Africa, a Continent of Contemporary Design". Vitra Design Museum. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  40. ^ "Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  41. ^ "Iya Ati Omo, Yinka Ilori, 2016". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  42. ^ Englefield, Jane (13 May 2022). ""I use colour as a way of starting a conversation" says designer Yinka Ilori". Dezeen. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  43. ^ "David Chipperfield and Yinka Ilori recognised in Queen's New Year Honours list". Dezeen. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  44. ^ Long, Molly (4 January 2021). "Yinka Ilori among designers and creatives named in New Year's Honours 2021". Design Week. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  45. ^ Hashish, Amira (28 January 2022). "Yinka Ilori's area guide, including a hot tip from Ed Sheeran". Evening Standard. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  46. ^ "UCA announces 2024 honours". University for the Creative Arts - UCA. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  47. ^ "Yinka Ilori x The North Face Find the Good in the Bad Weather". Hypebeast. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  48. ^ "Dezeen - Yinka Ilori х North Face". dezeen.com. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  49. ^ "Dulwich Pavilion 2019: The Colour Palace". Dulwich Picture Gallery. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  50. ^ "Superblue, Yinka Ilori". Superblue. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  51. ^ Ravenscroft, Tom (14 July 2020). "Yinka Ilori creates "joy and excitement" with colourful skate park in Lille". Dezeen. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  52. ^ "Yinka Ilori Teams Up With THE SKATEROOM". Hypebeast. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  53. ^ Cooper, Leonie (28 October 2021). "The eye-popping Yinka Ilori x Lego collab is open from today". Time Out London. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  54. ^ Thomas, Ben (24 August 2021). "Design London unveils talks programme". Sleeper. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  55. ^ Elengical, Jerry. "Yinka Ilori restyles London's pedestrian crossings with vivid colours for LDF 2021". Stir World. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  56. ^ "ABOUT". Labrum London. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  57. ^ Willson, Tayler (20 September 2021). "Labrum's SS22 Collection Sees British Styles Meet West African Accents". Hypebeast. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  58. ^ Davidson, Laurie (7 September 2021). "Lick's new collection with award-winning artist Yinka Ilori embraces the biggest trend of the season". Ideal Home. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  59. ^ Rakes, Rachael. "sonsbeek20→24, "force times distance: on labour and its sonic ecologies" — Criticism — e-flux". E-flux. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  60. ^ Wong, Henry (5 July 2021). "Yinka Ilori and Nick Ryan design "artful dodgems" for Somerset House". Design Week. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  61. ^ updated, Rosa Bertoli last (2 July 2021). "Last chance to see: Yinka Ilori's colourful pop-up at London's Greenwich Peninsula". Wallpaper. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  62. ^ Harris, Gareth (8 September 2022). "Meta London unveils art commissions at vast King's Cross office complex". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  63. ^ Beach, Charlotte (7 July 2022). "Yinka Ilori's Flamingo Playground Will Make You Wish You Were a Kid Again". Print Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  64. ^ Bromley, Joe (20 February 2023). "Labrum London's peerless show lights up Brixton Village". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  65. ^ Williams, Frances (27 February 2023). "AHMM's £83m extension of former Cass building completed". The Architects' Journal. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  66. ^ "Yinka Ilori places gigantic chairs in Royal Docks for Types of Happiness installation". Dezeen. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  67. ^ "Yinka Ilori Makes US-Debut with Premiere of ART on THE MART". Art Plugged. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  68. ^ "Yinka Ilori: Omi Okun". ART on THE MART. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  69. ^ "Yinka Ilori's Pavilion at HKW—Reflection in Numbers: A Deliberation on Accountability and Multiplicity in Sports | HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt". Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  70. ^ "Yinka Ilori designs reflective pavilion at Haus der Kulturen der Welt 2024". Dezeen. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  71. ^ "Yinka Ilori: Slices of Peace". Turner Contemporary. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  72. ^ "Turner Contemporary & UCA Public Art – Kings Hill". Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  73. ^ "Yinka – It Started with a Parable « Jaguarshoes Collective". Jaguarshoes Collective. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  74. ^ "Yinka Ilori in 'This is where it started' Lagos exhibition". TheNiche. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  75. ^ Williamson, Caroline (18 September 2015). "Installation Inspired by Nigerian Parables & Fabric". Design Milk. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  76. ^ Affolderbach, Annegret. "If chairs could talk: the stories of Yinka Ilori's furniture". Wanted Online. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  77. ^ "Yinka Ilori: Parables for Happiness". Design Museum. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  78. ^ "Africa Calling". The Dots. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  79. ^ "Home Affairs". Now Gallery. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  80. ^ "Knit! by Kvadrat explores knitted textiles by Kvadrat Febrik at 3 days of design 2020". Kvadrat. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  81. ^ "Yinka Ilori | Knit! by Kvadrat". Kvadrat. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  82. ^ Floris, Job; Vally, Sumayya (2021). Price, Dingle; Gore, Alex (eds.). Pricegore & Yinka Ilori: Dulwich Pavilion. Showing work by Pricegore and Yinka Ilori Studio. Zurich: Park Books. ISBN 978-3-03860-233-0. OCLC 1224160677.
  83. ^ Reynolds, Jason (2018). For every one. London: Knights Of. ISBN 978-1-9996425-3-2. OCLC 1063638673.
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