You probably think that cassettes are dead? Well, think again! Artist Erika Iris Simmons, born in 1983 in St. Louis, USA, uses old cassette tapes to create incredibly artistic celebrity portraits. Simmons, who works under the pseudonym Iri5, first stumbled upon the idea to transform cassettes into portraits after noting a similarity between a pile of unrolled film and the Jimmy Hendrix’s untamed locks. She soon set out to make her first piece: a portrait of the rock idol himself.
According to the artist, creating new forms with recycled material is part of what makes her work so special.
“It feels great to work with strange, older materials. Things that have a mind of their own. Most everything I use has been thrown away or donated at some point. Past its prime, like some of the finest things in the world.”
Bob Marley
Debbie Harry of Blondie
Jerry Garcia
Jimi Hendrix
John Lennon
Kurt Cobain
Lauryn Hill
Lenny Kravitz
Madonna
Maggie Cheung
Michael Jackson
Paul Griffiths
Steven Tyler
The Beatles
Tom Waits
