‘For me, craftsmanship is about storytelling,’ says multidisciplinary artist Yinka Ilori, who has joined the Crafts Council’s Board of Trustees. Ilori has rapidly risen to fame for his upcycled furniture, installations and public art pieces in a trademark eye-popping palette, inspired by his British-Nigerian background.
‘I am particularly inspired by cultural aspects of my Nigerian heritage, where parables are woven into objects,' he explains. 'I don’t just fix broken chairs, I give them new stories. When people buy them, they add their own stories.'
Layers of narrative are central to his work. 'This approach helps us build stronger connections with the things we live with. We look after things better and value their use more. I’m not a fan of the term “upcycling” – I prefer to talk about “re-loving”.’