Andy Brown is a Business Support Manager at RTC, this month we caught up with Andy to hear all about his passion for making unique and bespoke pictures from old cassettes. Join us as we delve into the world of an artist who breathes new life into forgotten cassettes and harnesses their essence to create stunning pictures.

Living in a constantly evolving world with new technologies and cutting-edge innovations, Andy draws his inspiration from the relics of the past. Andy first started creating his visual art pieces in the summer of 2021 after initiating his idea and finding some suitable frames in a sale. His spark of inspiration came from social media and seeing a piece of art crafted from an old mix tape.

Andy explains “My inspiration behind it all is my love of music, I’m not sure I’ll ever make my fortunes doing this but any money I make goes toward buying more cassettes to create art or to buy my vinyl albums which is another hobby or mine.”

Andy reveals the process involved to create his pieces, “The longest part of the process is often buying the cassettes. The biggest pictures require 5 cassettes by the same artist and can take months to search and collect them.

Once I have the cassettes then it depends on the type of picture I’m making, I currently make 4 different types of pictures with different compositions, some which are more complicated and intricate than others. Some have lyrics on made from wooden scabble style tiles and it takes a long time to get these precisely lined up.

The design and set up element take the longest, laying out the cassettes and moving everything until I feel it looks right, then I take a few photographs before dismantling the elements before gluing everything in place. From design to finish it can take anywhere between, 1 to 3 hours.”

Andy sources his materials from anywhere from eBay to charity shops, saying he finds it “hard to walk past a charity shop without having a quick look in for cassettes”.

The creativity of developing the pictures is what Andy enjoys the most, “It gives me an outlet for my creativity, and I also get a buzz when I sell a picture or get positive feedback saying they love the design and outcome!”

If you would like to check out Andy’s Art please visit Etsy AndysPopArt - Etsy UK or visit his social media accounts on Facebook - Andy’s Pop and Rock Art, and Instagram @andyspopandrockart

Andy plans on venturing to weekend markets in the next coming weeks and in the run up to Christmas – Good Luck Andy!