From far away, you’d think this was an oil portrait of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna – and you’d be half right. While it does depict the Brazilian racing driver, the image was created with a much more creative material – old denim jeans. Created out of Senna’s family’s own old jeans by UK artist Ian Berry (aka Denimu), the portrait was created to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Senna’s untimely death during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in 1994. Berry accepted the commission from the Ayrton Senna Institute, as he was keen to immortalise one of his childhood heroes, but is so in demand that he frequently has to turn down work. Berry’s pieces are all incredibly detailed, especially considering he uses nothing more than old denim which he applies with thread or glue, choosing pieces carefully in order to show light and shade, depth and texture. Check out this beautiful video showing his creative process, and look at the pictures of the finished portrait of Senna underneath.
Don’t forget to follow Feeldesain on Twitter + Facebook + Pinterest to get all the latest updates.
