In the series 'Seven questions with...' Art UK speaks to some of the most exciting emerging and established artists working today.

For more than a decade, the London-based artist and designer Yinka Ilori (b.1987) has brightened the world with the vibrant colours that encompass almost every aspect of his creative practice. While the 37-year-old – who grew up on an estate on Essex Road in Islington – began his career in 2011 upcycling vintage furniture, his work now involves a team who share his passion for colour and narrative-focused projects often inspired by his British upbringing and Nigerian heritage.

Yinka Ilori photographed in Berlin, 2024

This approach to art making has seen Ilori's work displayed across the globe, from Lagos to New York. He has also collaborated with high-profile clients and institutions, including Adidas and Somerset House.

Courtyard design by Yinka Ilori (b.1987) for Dodge at Somerset House, London, 2021

Most recently, Ilori has created a collection of colourful garments with North Face. These include jackets and sweatshirts peppered with geometric patterns in lively oranges, pinks and blues similar to many of his signature prints, such as Ripples of Stillness (2023), in which bold orange, pink, green and yellow curved shapes create a pleasant symmetrical pattern.

Ilori's work is also set to be shown in Art Basel Miami later this year, and he recently partnered with the creative agency BUILDHOLLYWOOD to unveil almost a dozen billboards across London designed by children aged 5 to 11. The variety of his latest undertakings shows how his practice regularly blurs the lines between different aspects of the creative industry and has seen him dubbed an 'Architect of Joy'.

If You Can Dream Then Anything is Possible

Precious Adesina: How would you describe your practice and how it has evolved?

Yinka Ilori: My practice spans architecture, product design and illustration. I get the most satisfaction from working with public spaces as I get to see people react to and engage with my work. I stand by the title 'Architect of Joy' because I try to bring pockets of joy into the world we live in, which I have been doing for about 15 years.

Exhibition design by Yinka Ilori (b.1987) for 'Get Up, Stand Up Now' at Somerset House, London, 2019

Recently, I went back through old photos and came across a picture of myself in 2006. I was 19 and in the first year of my undergraduate degree in Furniture and Product Design. The photo was of me and a den I had made using hangers. I created a large dome-igloo-like structure. The project was so impactful for me at the time as it allowed me to consider how I could work on a bigger scale. It also went beyond designing chairs and tables, allowing me to facilitate and build a world for people to create their own memories and engage with people they don't know. It reminded me why I do what I do today.

My work has evolved, not only from creating objects to undertaking larger scale projects, and now to creating pavilions, visual identities and languages for brands such as Apple during Black History Month, for instance.

Precious: How does the look of an environment affect how people behave or experience that space?

Yinka: A prime example would be my first public commission, which saw me transform Thessaly Road Railway Bridge in Battersea.

Design by Yinka Ilori (b.1987) for Thessaly Road Railway Bridge, Wandsworth, London

The underpass was run down, unsafe, and had high crime. One side had council estates states; the other had expensive penthouses and big brand shops. It was a connection point between two groups of people, though they never engaged with each other despite crossing paths. For me, the transition was about giving the people in the area a sense of pride and ownership over their community.

Precious: You've previously mentioned that your upbringing inspired your North Face collaboration. What do you mean by this?

Yinka: Working with North Face was a 360 moment for me. If you look at subcultures in the 1990s and 2000s, brands such as Stone Island and North Face were part of a uniform. As a young kid growing up in Islington, I remember wearing North Face and feeling a part of something.

My collaboration with them was called 'Never Stop Dreaming'. The idea was about celebrating those who were part of my young dreams and my memories of growing up in north London.

Precious: The collaboration also draws on your Nigerian heritage and your parent's style. How have you used that in the way you've approached the designs?

Yinka: Growing up, fashion was huge in our house. My mom and dad took good pride in what we wore. I have a brother who's two years older than me, and even though we're not twins, they would dress us up as twins. My mom and dad would also shop at all these places in Europe, or their friends would give them fabrics.

My mum was the one who made the most clothes choices for the family, and she loved pink, orange and yellow. You'd also often see texts, slogans, embroideries and motifs on the garments and fabrics we wore. African fabrics often have a story behind them, which also inspires me.

Precious: There is often a common thread, both aesthetically and philosophically, between the different types of work you do. How do you keep that consistency, and choose which brands to collaborate with that will allow you to keep that consistency in mind?

Yinka: People might say that artists shouldn't do brand collaborations or commercialise their work, but I'm more focused on accessibility. Many people I'm targeting with my work don't care about big art institutions or even know what they are. While I want to change that, being disconnected from these people in the meantime is a missed opportunity because you are forgetting a whole audience of people whose lives you could change.

I'm always going to be crossing the line between what we call the art world and accessibility. I'm still an artist and a designer, but I want to connect with people who grew up like me and were raised in the same way, which working with brands can do.

Precious: What would you say is the relationship between art and design, and which artists influence how you approach this in your practice?

Yinka: In the third year of my degree, we studied art history as one of the project modules. I was inspired by Yinka Shonibare, who is also now a mentor to me.

As part of my dissertation, I looked at the fabric Swiss Voile lace and how it's used in Nigerian communities. We never studied many Black artists, architects, or designers so it was great to see him working with all the big galleries and how much respect and accolades he had at the time. He was pushing boundaries and telling incredible and uncomfortable stories. There was also humour in his work, which I thought was phenomenal.

Precious: The relationship between colour and remembrance is also a significant aspect of your practice. What do you mean when you say that?

Yinka: Colour has always been a way for me to remember key moments in my life. I can paint pictures in my mind of what something looked like and what I felt at the time through this. I remember how my parents were at a wedding because of the beautiful lilac jacquard fabric they were wearing at the time – or what we wore at one of my sibling's birthday parties. We were in our community hall on Essex Road. My brother, sister, and I were in purple. I also remember the walls of the space being white. I remember it was an amazing party and that we had a WWE Hulk Hogan cake.

That's why colour is so important to me and instrumental in thinking about spaces, as it plays a huge part. I have a dedicated archive of colours on Dropbox that my team have to use, as it's also about having the right saturation, tone, the right amount of red, pink or yellow – whatever it is.

Precious Adesina, freelance writer

For more information about the artist, visit yinkailori.com

This content was supported by Jerwood Foundation