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A frugal artist has made use of her old cassette
tapes and film reels to create portraits of some of the world's most
famous faces.
Erika Iris Simmons has crafted life-like images of iconic people across
the decades from Marilyn Monroe to Bob Marley simply using the old-style
tape.
She said: 'I like to take random things - like what you would find at a
garage sale or in a thrift store - and make them into composite art.
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'Most of my pieces become portraits of people associated with the item
I’ve chosen.
'I don’t really add any paint or pigments. I usually just take things
apart and re-arrange the pieces, cutting away portions when necessary.
'A lot of my art is made with cassette tapes and old film reels in a
series I call 'Ghost in the Machine'.'
Simmons, who was born in St Louise but grew up in Orlando, studied
make-up and worked as a face-painter at Universal Studios before moving
on to create physical artworks.
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She explains on her website: 'I spent about a year tearing up anything I
could find in my house – playing cards, newspapers, coffee table books.
'I didn’t have money to spend on art supplies, all of my materials came
from Walgreens: scissors, glue, scotch tape, etc.
'But I was searching for an idea, and it didn’t really matter that I
didn’t have a lot to work with. That was a blessing in a way.
'At the time I was waiting tables at Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando,
Florida. I was a cocktail waitress in the VIP lounge, which is Jimi
Hendrix themed. I think staring at music memorabilia all day probably
soaked my brain with that vibe.
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'One day as I was leaving to go to work I saw a pile of cassette tapes
laying on top of a canvas I had set near my door. I thought, “What
ghosts could be hiding in those machines?”
'I pulled out the ribbon and tried to work with it, making some writing.
I watched the ribbon curl up and it reminded me of Jimi Hendrix’s crazy
hair, so that was the first portrait I made.'
Simmons soon started showing her work in galleries and has now been
working as a full-time artist for several years.
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