What started as a simple high school art challenge eventually became more like a wearable time capsule. Five years ago, artist Brianna Morrell began painting small illustrations onto a white denim jacket as a way to practice her skills and experiment outside the boundaries of a traditional canvas. One addition led to another, and today, her aptly named 375 Project brings together more than 375 individually hand-painted images on a single piece of clothing.
Look closely, and the jacket begins to feel like a visual archive of growing up in the age of the internet. Pop-culture references sit alongside familiar cartoon and video game imagery, recognizable brands, food, memes, internet oddities, and plenty of wonderfully random objects. Some references are instantly recognizable, while others might take a second, or a very particular corner of your memory, to place. Together, they capture an eclectic mix of what has circulated through screens, fandoms, conversations, and social media over the past several years.
Take your time exploring the jacket below and see how many references you can recognize. Which ones immediately brought back a memory, and which illustration would you want to add to the collection yourself? Let us know your favorites in the comments. You can also visit Brianna Morrell’s Instagram and TikTok to watch short videos dedicated to individual paintings, or head to her website to discover more of her paintings and sculptures.
