Portfolio Review: Erika Iris Simmons Talks About Her Amazing Cassette Tape Portraits

Erika Iris Simmons, aka iri5, is a 27-year-old self-taught artist who works in non-traditional media: film reels, credit cards, sheet music and anything else she can find for under five dollars at Goodwill. In Ghost in the Machine, she uses discarded cassette tapes to create remarkable portraits of rock legends. We caught up with Erika to guide us through a portion of the series.

Erika’s work is currently on display at the VH1 Headquarters in New York City’s Times Square. Check her website for updates and further information.

Click on the gallery to read her thoughts about this innovative project.

Introduction and interview by Julie Fishman.

Erika Iris Simmons: “I enjoy the idea of recursion, how at one level the artwork means one thing then you back away and see it from another perspective. I was inspired by the data on tapes and how arranging the data led to different meanings."

“In Ghost in the Machine it’s like the musician is rising out of the cassette, out of their own music. I like the idea of creating a portrait of Monet using his actual brushstrokes or Shakespeare using his actual text. I find these constraints beautiful and metaphorically appropriate.”

“The title Ghost in the Machine is a nod to the dualist notion that your spirit inhabits your body. The single cassette tape represents 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.'"

“The most jarring inspiration for my art came from the work of Ken Knowlton, a brilliant artist and computer scientist. His portrait of Einstein made out of dice opened my mind to what art could be—not just decoration, but something deeply moving.”

“Jimi was the first portrait I attempted—the curly tape texture reminded me of his wild hair and inspired me to experiment. I was working as a waitress at Hard Rock Café at the time so I’m sure being surrounded by music memorabilia had an effect on this initial piece as well.”

“The Bob Marley portrait took about three weeks to complete. The hardest part was his dreadlocked hair, which I did by sort of weaving the tape. This one was definitely a labor of love.”

“I wanted to make an homage to Debbie Harry but I didn’t want to make her too pretty. I tried about six different versions before I settled on this graphic look. My friends thought I was crazy for tearing the piece up and restarting so many times.”

“This portrait is one of my all-time favorites. It was made as a commission for The Sunday Times magazine in London. They wanted a really fast turn-around, like 72 hours, so I worked pretty much straight through that timeframe to get it done. The piece ended up being well worth the hurried pace.”

“I’ve used hundreds of cassette tapes at this point. People often donate them to me, so I’ve literally got boxes and boxes of tapes from all over the world. I’ve recently started experimenting with wine labels and typewriter ribbon. I haven’t really found a method to the madness, I just work on whatever ideas come along.”