Thomas Witte's Paper Cuts Are Mindblowingly Intricate (VIDEO)

Do you feel a sense of pride when you fold paper over, cut a few simple shapes and accordion them out into a bunch of monkeys holding hands? Yes, that's very impressive.

Perhaps a touch more incredible is the work of Thomas Witte, an artist who cuts mindblowingly intricate portraits into paper. The blog Ditmas Park Corner recently sat down with the artist to see how he does it.

He starts with a drawing on paper as a template for the cuts. "Everything has to remain connected," he says, in order for the thing to stay together after he chops it up.

Witte says he was initially inspired by the stencil scene in Argentina. When he came back to the US he appropriated what he'd seen there, and started stenciling from his grandfather's old slides.

The paper cuts are truly remarkable. Watch the video above to find out how he does it, and head over to Ditmas Park Corner to read more.

Witte has a show opening May 10th in NYC at the Christopher Henry Gallery.