Denim - Don't Just Wear It!

Is it a painting? Is it a photograph? No. This is art. Denim art. And Ian Berry tells us how.

- Priyanka Menon

If we tell you wearing denim is not the only way to use denim, what would you say? Intrigued? Well, we certainly were when we first got to know of Denimu’s Ian Berry who believes “denim is a reflection of the world in which we live.” When you look at Ian’s work, your first impression is that of an indigo coloured oil painting, or a photograph in blue. And for most, even when they’re at touching distance of his installations, it is hard to believe that the entire artwork is made from scratch and contains only scraps of denim in varying shades of blue.

Ian hails from Yorkshire, but has exhibitions and installations at various sites across the world. He is deeply inspired by textile artists like Mark Evans, Shezaad Dawood, Luke Haynes, to name a few. “In most countries if you walk down any street, most of the people will be wearing denim. It’s the default item of clothing and the material of our time. So what better way to portray contemporary life than with the material we all wear?”

Speaking exclusively to Home Review, Ian goes on to say, “Denim is full of many dualities. A symbol of democracy, with a bad past with poor conditions, and still it is also a material that unites us all and tells us that we are all alike.” As we see it, denim being everywhere ceases to be a symbol of individuality. But Ian points out, “Once someone wears a pair of jeans it becomes unique only to that person.”