Ian Berry's Artworks Are Made Entirely from Cut Up Blue Jeans

Ian Berry is British, but his heart belongs to California—or at least the California that appeared in 80s movies. The work pictured above, which is part of a series titled Hotel California, is named after the iconic song that forms a central image of California in Berry’s mind.

Berry's voice seems to be a deeply nostalgic one. He tells My Modern Met that blue denim jeans, worn by postwar stars like Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando, and Marilyn Monroe, created a new look that dominated fashion and told a narrative about their generation. It was a generation that took work pants and created a new cultural world with them. Jeans thus speak to Berry about an essential transition time in history.