It May Seem A Shame To Destroy Them,

but these are old unwanted,

 out of date dictionaries and encyclopedias, 

 that have become the canvas or I should say medium of Montreal-based artist Guy Laramée, 

he excavates mountainous landscapes, cavernous hollows, pools and sloping watersheds from the dense pages of re-purposed books,

 one of his favourite mediums are bound stacks of old dictionaries and encyclopedias, like the ones above, pictured from the back,

  and from the front, which he carves using a method of sandblasting to which he later applies oil paints, inks, pigments and dry pastels, crayon, adhesives, and beeswax,

when photographed up close the works appear almost realistic, You can explore more of Laramée’s latest work at JHB Gallery, I guess if the books were going to be pulped it is a artistic and skillful use of a unwanted resource.