Re-Inspiration: Ghost in the Machine

Sure you can knit with old cassette tapes and even find cassette tape fabric to craft with. Those aren’t the only uses for your analog relics!

Artist Erika Iris Simmons (aka iri5) takes reused cassettes to a whole new level. She specializes in turning trash into treasure, letting the materials dictate the final product. Here’s how she describes her Ghost in the Machine series:

In this series I showcase a number of portraits of musicians made out of recycled cassette tape with original cassette. Also included are portraits made from old film and reels. The idea comes from a philosopher’s (Ryle) description of how your spirit lives in your body. I imagine we are all, like cassettes, thoughts wrapped up in awkward packaging.

The result is a series of beautiful portraits of musicians and actors including Jimi Hendrix, Audrey Hepburn, and Bettie Paige.

You can check out the whole Ghost in the Machine series over at Flickr. While you’re there, take a peek at some of Erika’s other amazing recycled art! I’m particularly into this portrait of Oscar Wilde that she assembled from pages from The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Have you created any art using old audio or video cassettes? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons Photo by Marc Arsenault

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