feature: ‘if chairs could talk’ – the upcoming furniture design exhibition of british-nigerian artist yinka ilori

Check out the latest creations from British-Nigerian visual artist Yinka Ilori – each will feature in his upcoming furniture design exhibition, ‘If Chairs Could Talk’ (19th September – 27th November 2015 at The Shop at Bluebird). In this solo installation, Ilori (known for up-cycling vintage furniture and using African fabrics) will “present a series of five chairs, using each of them as a narrator to create a captivating collective of modern art that mimics characters from his childhood. More specifically the exhibition focuses on the well-known African parable “Despite How Long the neck of a giraffe is, it can’t see the future” creating a thought provoking installation that gives the audience an insight into the artist’s journey to adulthood’. Explore below.

By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

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Ilori tells AFROPUNK: “‘If Chairs Could Talk’ is an exhibition about my childhood and school experience, growing up around peers who were torn between the fast street life and unaware of their full potential because they never believed in themselves. Not only did they did not believe in themselves the system didn’t either, so they had no choice but to go down the wrong path. As a black man growing up in North London in a council estate notoriously known for racism was difficult for me, but had to stay strong because that was the only way to fight. Not only that, it was difficult seeing black youths go in and out of jail, at one point it made me question what life is about. At times I almost went of the rails but every time I wanted to, I thought about my parents and how hard they have worked for me and my siblings which gave me the drive to be where I am today. Not only that they believed in me and fought for me in any situation whenever they felt they needed to step. They were also proud of being black and Nigerian and today this has given me the voice that speaks volumes in my work, suing traditional Nigeria parables as a starting point for my inspiration when creating new work.”

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www.yinkailori.com

https://www.facebook.com/yinksdesigns

Photo credit: Veerle Evens