Yinka Ilori

YINKA ILORI - 1987, Nigeria / United Kingdom

Like many other young Africans and expats, Yinka Ilori didn’t choose a life as a doctor or an engineer, as his parents wished for. Instead, he chose the creative path where African traditions are mixed with contemporary design and language. Yinka Ilori specializes in up-cycling vintage furniture, inspired by traditional Nigerian parables and African fabrics. His unique and vibrant work sits between traditional divisions of art and design.

Iloris's design debates consumerism when he transforms vintage furniture into a new and colorful life by combining elements from different chairs and adding other objects, textiles, and colors. Every single chair from Ilori is inspired by and conveys the Nigerian parables that were part of his childhood home. Actually, one of his recent shows was named If Chairs Could Talk. Ilori uses the narratives of the parables with a declared political aim to create works that make the observer reflect on issues such as hope, sexuality, and social classes.

Yinka Ilori studied Furniture and Product Design at London Metropolitan University and has since exhibited internationally in solo shows and group exhibitions in London, Lagos, Stockholm, Basel, Bilbao, and New York.