When London-based artist Yinka Ilori visits New York, he’s drawn more to the city’s quiet corners over its bustling crowds—a tree grove in Central Park, say, over SoHo shopping. About a year ago, the British-Nigerian artist walked through the park, noticing the wildflowers and birds, and dreamt up an art installation that would soon find a home just a few blocks east, at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship.
Now, Ilori’s work covers the Bloomingdale’s facade and window displays with bright blooms and psychedelic colors. Inside, Ilori takes over the “Carousel,” the store’s pop-up space, with his “Cherish Your Magic” installation. Animated, bright flowers and vines creep up the walls with oversized orange blooms popping out in 3-D, while massive blue sculptures of hands frame display tables.
“It feels very much like an Alice in Wonderland, magical experience that captivates your imagination,” Ilori tells ELLE Decor. “[It’s] a space where I’m encouraging you to dream and believe in magic.”
Courtesy Of Bloomingdale’s
The Bloomingdale’s Carousel with Ilori’s “Cherish Your Magic” installation.
Though Ilori has already collaborated with a number of big brands, from Lego to The North Face to McLaren, he notes that this Bloomingdale’s installation is his biggest project to date—the whole endeavor took about a year from the initial proposal to the finished product.
“I’ve done a number of different projects over the years but this one feels—it’s weird to say— like a homecoming,” he says. “This really solidifies what I’ve been wanting to do and what I’ve been saying for a really long time.”
Courtesy Yinka Ilori
Ilori in front of the facade and windows he designed for Bloomingdale’s.
Ilori grew up in London, raised by his Nigerian parents who moved there in the late 1980s. They were a major influence on his style, and seeded the motifs that would later become prominent in his art. Ilori’s parents were “obsessed with their roots and their heritage,” he says, and also gave him “so much exposure to color and pattern, also flowers” from a young age.
“They’re my biggest inspiration in terms of how I story-tell, in terms of how I see color, and how I really celebrate joy in my work,” he says.
Ilori often strolled London’s parks, picking flowers—daffodils and roses—and smelling them, finding their scent transported him to other places. It’s a feeling he compares to holding a seashell to your ear and hearing the sound of the ocean.
Kane Hulse
Artist Yinka Ilori.
Ilori eventually went to London Metropolitan University, getting a bachelor’s of arts in furniture and product design. He then worked for lighting designer Lee Broom before starting his own practice. Since then, he’s designed furniture, made art and sculptures, collaborated on fashion and homeware lines, and worked with a variety of commercial clients. He also developed his signature playful style, one consisting of bright colors, vibrant florals, and nature as inspiration. Ilori was recently “blown away” by a hawk moth, which resembles a small hummingbird, that he saw in Athens. He also cites the yellow trumpet flower he saw in Nigeria, which, he says, “represents hope and resilience.”
“I really hope [New Yorkers] take something away from this,” Ilori says, “which is, believing in your magic, and believing in magic.”
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