The hanging trellis with flowers, leaves, vines, wisteria is made from denim sourced from Cone, and was made possible using Tonello’s laser machines and ozone technology. 

To cut out the shapes and designs by hand could have taken “many months or years”, he said, but instead he completed the project in two months.

He explained: “Maybe about six years ago, I used a laser machine for the first time, but it wasn’t the right time for me. I didn’t like the results, because you get the burnt textures and the feel was very flat. But working with Tonello, I realised you could get very interesting depths and textures.”

He travelled to Italy to work with the team, which he describes as a “family, full of ideas and solutions”.

The San Francisco piece was commissioned for the Kilroy Realty for the Kilroy Innovation Centre to pay homage to the blue-collar jobs being preserved by the new Flower Mart.

“The project in San Francisco is a great one,” he added, “because it's flowers, representing the flower market, and if you think of San Francisco you think of denim and jeans, the history and heritage.”

Alice Tonello, head of marketing and R&D at Tonello, said: “We are combing art with technology in a sustainable way. Treating denim in a different way is a dream.”

Ian Berry is renowned for his work with denim, which he has been using as an art form for 15 years. He is also exhibiting in the birthplace of Levis’ founder Leob Strauss in Germany, the first stop on a world tour.

Credit: Lawrence Anderson Productions