For most of us, old cassette tapes or film reels mean nothing, but for Erika Iris Simmons it means a raw material to create an extraordinary artwork.
Was born in St. Louis but spent most of her childhood in Orlando, she got the first job as a face painter at Universal Studios. She likes to take things- random things- like what we would find at a garage sale or in a thrift store- and make them into composite art.
Most of her pieces become portraits of people associated with the item she has chosen. She doesn’t really add any paint or pigment. Usually just take things apart and re-arrange the pieces, cutting away portions when necessary. A lot of her arts are made with cassette tapes and old film reels in a series I call “Ghost in the Machine.”
Here are some example from her extraordinary work:
So what do you think??
8/11 Toledo 