Yinka Ilori, the artist who dreams of London in color

The creative talent of Nigerian origin is revolutionizing the English capital with his vibrant chromatic universe. Among the latest installations, a "Launderette of Dreams" for Lego

At the age of 18 he hunted for discarded chairs and reinvented them with new fabrics and colors, taking his cue from the bright patterns of the garments, curtains and tablecloths of the African tradition. Today he is one of the most highly acclaimed designers in the United Kingdom. Yinka Ilori, 34, a creator of Nigerian origin based in London, has been named as the emerging talent for 2020 by the London Design Festival.

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Laundrette of Dreams by Yinka Ilori x Lego. Ph. © Mark Cocksedge

With his kaleidoscopic universe, he is literally transforming the city of London. His latest installations include: Launderette of Dreams for Lego, in the lively Shoreditch district until 6 November, a very colorful space that reproduces a coin-op launderette, transforming it into a playful, vibrant and interactive site, using over 200,000 Lego bricks, where children can play and construct the world of their dreams.

This installation speaks worlds about the background of Yinka Ilori, from the launderettes of Essex Road, in northern London, where he went as a child with his family, to the project of a pathway inspired by the ideas of the children at Ilori’s former elementary school, St Jude & St Paul’s C of E.

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Laundrette of Dreams by Yinka Ilori x Lego. Ph. © Mark Cocksedge

Launderette of Dreams is a very personal project for me, because I spent lots of time inside launderettes as a child. It was a place where I could dream about the things I wanted to achieve,” the designer says. “We often overlook banal spaces that have an important role to bring the community together, people of different cultures and backgrounds, while providing an opportunity for kids to meet each other, to play and to share ideas. I hope the Launderette of Dreams will inspire adults and children to believe that they can dream and create, anywhere.”

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Bring London Together by Yinka Ilori

His story, after all, is a dream that becomes reality: “I began from zero. After graduating from London Metropolitan University I applied for a loan of 3000 pounds to the Prince’s Trust, the charity created by Prince Charles to support young people. I opened my studio in 2011 and I had my first show two years later.” True success came in 2019, with a large-scale project for Pinterest, a playground enlivened by bright colors and geometric patterns.

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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, with the artist Yinka Ilori

From that moment on he has received more and more commissions, creating multicolored murals with positive messages to regenerate decaying zones, basketball courts that encourage people to bring out their best qualities, public outdoor art installations that are inclusive and open to all. Like Bring London Together for the London Design Festival 2021, a temporary public art project that has transformed eleven pedestrian crossings with stripes and strokes of color at Tottenham Court Road in Camden, while six others in the City of London form a spectacular public artwork of rainbow stripes to interrupt the gray monotony of days, reminding us that we can live and dream in color.