Clocking On... Art imitating life
11/08/2021
Clocking On...
Artist Ian Berry immerses himself in the creative process to produce world-renowned artworks using denim as his medium.
7.30am
I get woken up with a thud by my little boy, Elliott, who has already been up over an hour. I’m not a morning person and take a while waking up. I’ll do circles between Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and the rest, reading messages and then think I’ll reply when I’m awake. I’m still getting around to it.
8.00am
Make a coffee. After living in Sweden, I like my coffee strong. I rarely let an English person make me coffee now. I’m a breakfast person but now more Swedish style, with open sandwiches and yogurt. Not together, mind.
8.30am
The school run. It’s like a mini-Olympics just getting him dressed in his uniform, then trying to get him there. Sometimes it’s my only trip outside, in the shadow of Canary Wharf, East London. I normally run back, and then intend to go in the home gym or to the gym… tomorrow.
9.20am
My inbox is normally full of emails (one of the most common is a denim mill thinking they are the first to ask, “Could you show at our booth at X, Y, Z trade fair?” even though I have never shown at one). There are many asking for commissions and collabs. I've done probably less than 1% of requests but it still takes time talking through. In the early years, I didn’t know many in denim, past the main brands. Many have now become friends.
12.30pm
I crash after lunch and need a little sleep, no more than 20 minutes. If I don’t, I become quite ill, it’s been like this for 15 to 20 years. So yes, if you meet me out and about on a day I’ve not been able to have the sleep, I’m a wreck.
1.00pm
I wake a new man. I go into the studio and start cutting denim, surrounded by all my jeans, cross-legged on the floor. I really need to work out a better way to work. I often stream a film or series, which is a little odd giving how much focus the work needs. When I see my work, even years later, I can remember what I was watching at the time.
6.00pm
After working non-stop (avoiding answering the phone, finding an excuse not to do a Zoom, putting off 'interaction'), I get called for dinner. I'm very lucky with this. Good home-cooked food.
7.00pm
This is when I get the most work done. I wanted to move to the US years ago and wonder if I thought the hours I worked would fit in the best.
8.00pm
I will post to social media. I'm not the best on there but have a very nice, loyal community. I often can't post what I'm working on and when I'm deep into work I can go months without posting. I'm trying to be better. My work doesn't come across all that well on social media and still after all these years people think I paint on top of denim or something.
1.00am
Bed. When pieces take months it can be hard to be motivated. But near the end, when you see it come together, it goes faster. Also, I find it hard after an exhibition to get back into work, as every show I've had for the last dozen years has been a sell-out. It sounds good but it means you come back to an empty studio and I do find I am better when I'm surrounded by my work. When my head hits the pillow, I'm out within seconds.
Ian Berry’s latest exhibition, Splendid Isolation, will reopen at Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands until August 15, and at Textilmuseet (Textile Museum of Sweden) October 2021 to April 2022.
Photo: Ian Berry
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