Artist Rich McCor Turns Famous Landmarks Into Playful Optical Illusions With Nothing But Paper

Rich McCor is a Brighton-based artist and photographer who has figured out how to make the entire world look like a playful joke. His method is brilliantly simple: he takes black paper cutouts, holds them up against famous landmarks, and snaps a photo that completely reimagines what you are looking at.

What makes the work so satisfying is that it is almost entirely analog. McCor dreams up a silhouette, traces it, cuts it by hand, and then hunts for the perfect angle where a building, bridge, or statue suddenly becomes something else entirely. The London Eye becomes a bicycle wheel. The Arc de Triomphe transforms into a massive LEGO figure. Big Ben turns into a wristwatch. There is minimal Photoshop involved, just precise alignment and a clever eye.

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McCor started this project back in 2015, mostly as an excuse to explore more of London. Since then, it has exploded into a global adventure. He has traveled to the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and beyond, turning architecture everywhere into his personal canvas. The project grew so much that he released a book, Around the World in Cut Outs, which has been translated into multiple languages.

With over half a million followers, Paperboyo has become one of those rare Instagram creators whose work feels genuinely fresh every single time. He also experiments with GIFs and motion, adding another layer of humor to his already clever scenes.