Thomas Allen

United States (1963)
Biennale Images Vevey
2010
Paper Cuts

For his first exhibition in Europe at Festival Images, Thomas Allen explored the links between photography and pulp magazines, which were cheap and very popular in America in the first half of the 20th century. He cut out the covers, assembled and photographed them to create relief scenes that tell a new story. Displayed in large format over the facade of the municipal library, Paper Cuts took viewers into a somewhat disturbing fantasy world while interrogating the narrative potential of an image once removed from its context.