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.