How artist Yinka Ilori is using AI to bring his vision to life
I'm a British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist, designer and storyteller. Together with Google Arts & Culture Lab, I’ve created a digital playground called Dreaming with Flamingos, inspired by a real-world playground near me in Barking, London, called Flamboyance of Flamingos. This collaboration enabled me to explore my love of storytelling and Nigerian folklore parables with the help of Google AI.
A musical playground
In Dreaming with Flamingos, my first digital interactive artwork, you play as a young flamingo tasked to restore a park’s lost song. Help the elder flamingos remember their lost wisdom — the life force that once fueled this musical playground — by solving riddles within the game.
Each solved riddle reveals a dynamic generative soundtrack, inspired by West African instruments. Your reward at the end of each level is two unique digital artworks inspired by two of my most loved Nigerian parables, co-created with Google technology.
A collaboration with Google AI
With the Google Arts & Culture Lab, we created an experimental 3D playground using WebGL. The soundtrack, generated by Google DeepMind’s Lyria, is inspired by my Nigerian heritage. You can explore more than 400 possible sound combinations and curate your own music by playing in the park. We also fine-tuned a Google AI image generation model trained on my favourite designs to generate 38 collectible artworks in my signature bold and colourful style. Complete both levels to earn your artworks and curate your own soundtrack with musical surprises.
Storytelling, technology and ancient tradition
Dreaming with Flamingos takes inspiration from a real-life physical playground, Flamboyance of Flamingos, in London. When I was creating that space, local members of the elderly community shared memories of flamingos actually living there. This sparked the idea to explore themes of memory, community and joy in the digital realm.
I’ve always been drawn to the power of storytelling. My Nigerian heritage, rich in folklore and vibrant traditions, fuels my artistic vision. With Google’s advanced AI tools, I’m bringing this to life in a whole new way — merging ancient wisdom with modern technology.
Bring the joy back to Yinka’s 3D flamingo playground.
A call to play and dream
What does dreaming mean to you? To me, dreaming is how I imagine I want the world to be. I want to create a world that inspires a sense of belonging and that’s accessible for everyone, especially those who find it difficult to visit galleries and museums in person.
My dream for this project is to inspire you to connect with nature and each other in new, meaningful ways. At the end of each level, I invite you to linger, play and listen.
Experience Dreaming with Flamingos on the Google Arts & Culture app and website.
