June 22 – August 4, 2024
In this exhibition, experience Johansson’s masterful creations, where each meticulously crafted image tells a story that blurs the line between the possible and the impossible.
Exhibition Opening times
Thursday – Friday 1 pm- 5 pm
Saturday – Sunday 11 am – 4 pm
Opening Event – registrations only
June 22, 2 pm – 4.30 pm
Opening address by Jeff Moorfoot, OAM, founder and former director of Ballarat International Foto Biennale
Erik Johansson is a Swedish photographer and visual artist renowned for his captivating surrealist compositions. Based in Prague, Czech Republic, Johansson masterfully combines multiple photographs to create fantastical scenes that challenge perceptions of reality. Unlike traditional photographers who capture fleeting moments, Johansson’s work is driven by “unreal ideas implemented in a realistic way.” Johansson is a visual storyteller, meticulously constructing single, realistic images that depict the seemingly impossible. His innovative approach to photography transforms imagination into tangible art, making the ordinary extraordinary through his distinctive blend of technical skill and creative vision.
For Johansson, taking photographs is more like collecting material in order to realise his ideas and a finished picture can consist of hundreds of photographic images. Each new project is a new challenge and Erik’s goal is to make each picture look as realistic as possible.
“Growing up in the Swedish countryside has had a great impact on my visual style. Many of the environments I use in my pictures are places around where I grew up, with wide open landscapes and small red houses.”
Erik had an interest in drawing and computers from an early age, escaping to other worlds through computer games. “When I was 15 I got my first digital camera, which opened up new doors for me,” says Erik. However, it was the manipulation of the photograph that interested him the most, being able to create something that could not be captured with the camera.
In 2005 he moved to Gothenburg to study computer engineering at Chalmers University of Technology. During his studies, he began publishing pictures online, which in turn led to offers of commissioned work from various advertising agencies. He began freelancing in tandem with his studies, landing more and more assignments. On graduating from Chalmers he decided to continue freelancing full-time as a photographer. “Even though I never worked as an engineer, I have a problem-solving approach in the way I create my photographs.”
Exhibition partners
The Maud Gallery and the Queensland Centre for Photography are now closed until February 8, 2025.
We wish you happy and safe holidays.
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THE MAUD STREET PHOTO GALLERY acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, and recognises their continuing connection to the land and waterways.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging and extend this to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.