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ART

‘Isolation in Sweden put my art on world stage’

Yorkshireman and denim artist Ian Berry locked himself in a studio for three years in the small Swedish town Landskrona. The isolation took little toll, instead his career took a big leap – so big it outran him.

Sometimes Ian Berry forgets he lives in Sweden.

The artist, who was born in Huddersfield, UK, and became famous with making art out of blue jeans, most of the time locks himself up in his studio in Landskrona and works the whole day into the night.

"When I get out and talk to someone, I am like: 'Oh yeah, right, they are talking Swedish.'"

Despite the Swedish summer his skin is still white and despite having lived in Sweden for three years his language skills have not improve significantly.

"I work till I am exhausted, which is around one o' clock in the morning, then I go to bed and sleep until 7 or 8am. Then I go straight back to my studio. If I haven’t slept there."

In his art, Berry cuts pieces of denim into shapes and glues them together. This way he creates pictures of, for example, the London Underground or Piccadilly Circus, or interiors ranging from London pubs to American Diners. The magazine "Art Business News" placed him recently in its "Top 30 artists under 30" list.

In his studio, he stores thousands of different pairs of jeans, so he may always find the right shade for his new piece of art. Sometimes it takes him up to half a day to find the fitting piece.

The 29-year-old artist was inspired when he saw a pair of his old jeans on a pile of cast offs ready for the charity shop. "I was transfixed by the ripped, faded texture of the fabric," he writes on his homepage. "How the different blues contrasted against each other with the varying shades."

He doesn’t like to bang on about the conceptual nature of his art, but he does have his own meanings in his works, he says, but leaves further interpretation to the viewer: "I like when people come to me and say: 'I am not really into art but I like what you are doing'."

GALLERY: Scenes made out of jeans

During the recession in 2009, he was made redundant as an art director at a company in Sydney and left for Sweden to visit his backpacker girlfriend. But – "this changed my life drastically" – he stayed.

He focused only on his artwork full-time – which basically meant he was working on all cylinders again. Only this time, he did not do it for the money but was actually using up his savings while building up a new collection. The young couple even moved from Lund to Landskrona – a town of 30,000 – since the rent is cheaper there as they were not sure how well his art career would go.

At first, Berry was inspired by his new surroundings and a country that seems to love jeans. "It is amazing that such a small country has so many jeans brands," he says. "And they are a lot cheaper here than in London – one of the only things, that is."

In 2011, he set up an exhibition with Swedish scenes in southern Sweden, but, he says, "it didn't feel natural for me". He prefers the American brands which he associates with romantic notions of big movies. "It has a more international feeling but also a personal connection for me," says the artist, who held several exhibitions in the US, Portugal and London and is preparing for one at London's Catto Gallery in November this year.

At a recent exhibition in Miami, Berry sold his pieces for $7,200 a pop.

"I had 16 flights this year from Copenhagen, all work-related," says Berry. "My artwork has gone faster than I have. I did not have one day of vacation this year in all that travel."

When he does have the time, Berry visits the Swedish flea markets – loppis and shops there for used jeans. Sometimes people donate old clothes. "I even got a pair from the Nobel family."

Blue jeans are big in the Swedish second-hand market, he says. "It's just because so many people wear them here."

Even though he could not really immerse himself in the country he lives in right now, he found some things he likes about it: that Swedes love whisky and the summer, for example. "And I do like pickled herring." Berry has also swapped English tea for Swedish coffee.

On the other hand, there is a downside as well.

"I miss being around a creative crowd," he says, "but the good thing is, I don’t get distracted here."

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CULTURE

Daddy cool: Swedish dads go viral as boy band

Five Swedish fathers singing capella pop songs while taking care of their young children have taken social media by storm, with their videos garnering tens of millions of views.

Daddy cool: Swedish dads go viral as boy band

The five men, all in their 30s, film their “Dad Harmony” sessions while hanging out with their kids at home in the northern town of Skellefteå.

“This story all started at my bachelor party” in the summer of 2022, Peter Widmark, a 33-year-old who works in sales, told AFP in an interview. “We were hanging out and singing as we usually do when we hang out… (and) my brother filmed it and put it on TikTok with his seven followers.”

The next morning the dads discovered the video had been viewed 40,000 times. The number had skyrocketed to 20 million hits worldwide within a few weeks.

The five friends decided to start posting videos regularly, shot in their kitchens or on their sofas, often holding their little ones on their laps.

Singing the chorus of Leonard Cohen’s classic “Hallelujah”, one of the dads can be seen holding his weeks-old newborn in his arms.

“It’s a soothing thing when we sing,” Widmark said, explaining why the children are usually so calm in the videos.

‘Typical Swedish guys’

“We are typical Swedish guys,” said Widmark’s brother Tomas, who is also part of the group, adding it was “not that unusual” for men in Sweden to spend a lot of time with their children.

“Almost every guy in Sweden is used to taking paternity leave so it’s not a big deal for us,” he added.

Each of the dads has two kids.

Dad Harmony’s repertoire includes hits by Michael Jackson, the Beatles and popular Christmas songs.

Since the end of November the group has been on a month-long tour criss-crossing Sweden to perform live shows each weekend – albeit without their kids.

During the weeks, they go back to Skellefteå and continue to work at their normal jobs and spend time with their families.

The members of Dad Harmony in an interview with AFP. Photo: Viken Kantarci/AFP

“I just stumbled on their video on Instagram and I was mesmerised,” said Louise Elgström, a 41-year-old fan who attended a recent show in the town of Norrköping.

She said their appeal lies in the fact that “they feel so natural and also (that they are) involving their children”.

The dads vow their success won’t go to their heads. “No televisions flying from the hotel rooms!” joked band member Sebastian Åkesson.

But the group has big dreams: they hope to line up tour dates in the United States and Asia, and say they would love to sing with Elton John one day.

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