Reflection in Numbers: Yinka Ilori’s Pavilion on Racism and Accountability in Sports

Doğukan Güngör
Aug 17
2 min read

Updated: Sep 14

British-Nigerian artist and designer Yinka Ilori MBE invites visitors to embark on a critical and artistic journey with his latest pavilion, Reflection in Numbers. The project addresses racism in sports and the idea of personal accountability, raising urgent questions about the role each of us plays in perpetuating or challenging exclusion.

Officially opening on 7 June as part of Ballet of the Masses—On Football and Catharsis at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), the pavilion is not merely an artistic installation but a powerful critical commentary.

Photos: Hannes Wiedemann — Photos: *Hannes Wiedemann*

Facing Yourself Through Mirrors

At the heart of the design are mirrors, placed within a circular, stadium-like structure. Wherever a visitor stands, they are surrounded by their own reflection—multiplied endlessly. Even when alone, the space creates the uncanny sense of being watched by a mass. This unusual form of self-consciousness forces visitors to confront their own accountability in the culture of exclusion and racist chants too often present in stadiums.

Inspired by West African Knowledge Systems

Ilori integrates the calabash, a symbolic object used across West Africa in music, rituals, and daily life, as a central design element. Within the pavilion, calabash instruments such as the kora invite visitors to engage actively, turning the space into a participatory, multisensory environment. The echoes of music resonate like chants in a stadium, reinterpreted as symbols of inclusivity and communal experience.

From Spectator to Participant

With Reflection in Numbers, visitors are no longer passive observers—they become participants in a collective dialogue. The pavilion’s sounds, reflective surfaces, and vibrant presence extend beyond art and architecture, delving into how we interact with one another within the contexts of sport, culture, and society.