Award-winning artist and designer Yinka Ilori has created the ‘Laundrette of Dreams’ in Bethnal Green, an installation inspired by his childhood laundrette on Essex Road, North London.

Painstakingly recreated in hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks, the installation pays homage to the role community launderettes play in local communities and how they bring different cultures and walks of life together. A collaborative effort, the design was helped by pupils from Ilori’s former primary school, St Jude & St Paul’s Church of England.

Visitors will see and experience elements typically found within a launderette that are transformed to demonstrate “how children use play and their creative problem-solving abilities to turn everyday experiences into adventures”.

Yinka Ilori’s work is famed for its bright colours and intention. His work has been seen internationally (The Brits, Cannes) and across London. He recently redesigned several pedestrian crossings around central London and the now famous basketball court in Canary Wharf.

The Launderette of Dreams will be open from 28th October – 6th November and is free to enter. Look out for the limited series of workshops to book too – more details will be announced soon.

Address: 133-135 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 7DG

Written by Paul Armstrong 

Photography courtesy of Laundrette of Dreams