Unframed, 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm).

“I started cutting up books as an undergrad. Before that, I was taking old family snapshots and reconfiguring them, cutting words out of dictionaries into tiny slices and reassembling the definitions. I loved pop-up books when I was a kid, making dioramas. I played with train sets. I think it's just the idea of putting yourself into another world. [...]

I want to be able to tell people that the photos represent exactly what I saw through the lens when I took the picture. I cut the books, pop out the images and arrange them how I want them. If I want a blank page, I take an X-Acto knife and scrape off the ink; I use tape and pins to fasten the cut-outs the way I want them. The complete illusion is more like a magic trick than anything else—pulled off with props and by fooling the eye. It just wouldn’t be the same if I did all that on the computer—there’s no challenge in that. For me, the art is as much about the process of creation as the end result. It’s all connected.” - Thomas Allen

Thomas Allen is an American photographer. His work is included in several private collections, including the University of Saint Francis, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Target Corporation.