Erika Iris Simmons aka iri5, is a self-taught artist currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. In her incredible series titled Ghost in the Machine, Erika uses film from recycled cassette tapes and old film reels to create fantastic portraits of iconic artists and musicians. Below is a small sample of this wonderful series.
« My name is Erika Iris Simmons and I like to take things- random things- like what you would find at a garage sale or in a thrift store- and make them into composite art. 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 them in weird ways, cutting away pieces 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.”
“The Ghost in the Machine” series was inspired by some strange ideas. How at one level we are cellular beings and another we are a single “self.” The single cassette tape I thought of as representing the mind. The tape ribbon represents our thoughts, the data within. Taking that data – those bits of memory – and rearranging them to form what we see as a face is my way of finding a “ghost in the machine.” I also liked the fact that when you look at a portrait like Jimi Hendrix out of a cassette tape, you can almost hear the music in your head – so your own “data” is responding to what you see. » - Erika Iris Simmons.
http://www.iri5.com/
