British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori uses found furniture to create colourful designs and large-scale installations. His work is inspired by the Nigerian parables and African fabrics that surrounded him as a child and each of his designs tells a story. His colourful playground for citizenM’s hotel in Shoreditch, commissioned for last year’s London Design Festival, was a symbol of community and friendship inspired by his experience of growing up on a North London council estate.
Ilori has also created installations for the Africa Centre and Now Gallery in London and worked on commissions for adidas and WeTransfer. He has run upcycling workshops showing others how to transform old or unwanted furniture and recently collaborated with East London charity Restoration Station, helping its trainee furniture restorers create a set of chairs that were auctioned off to raise some much-needed funding for the social enterprise.
