Erik Johansson Expecting Winter

A scene set in Expecting Winter……

Knitting an expansive field of snow from cloth, roughly hewn together, a rustic scene of survival, set in a nordic fairy tale, a mystical depiction of the pull and unrelenting movement of nature and elemental seasons.

Swedish photographer Erik Johansson works in Sweden and Prague. His imaginative approach is much sought after for commercial projects, however it is the heroic magnetism of his personal work that captured my attention. In these majestic photographs, Johansson creates dramatically surreal worlds through a masterly combining of his own photographs. High polish and allegorical structure come together for a series of narratives that seem at once mythological and supremely contemporary.

I have watched this artist’s series of epic works for some time, and have found myself transported by the visionary beauty of this work, particularly Johansson’s transformation of landscape into a place of metaphorical, narratival heroism, colored with a sense of imagination. The powerful pull of nature, its role as an extension of our own self, spirit, and stories are all so potently expressed.

 

 

Erik Johansson Impact 

 

In this new picture, a lake shatters into fragments of mirrors, liquid to the metallic shards…a moment of magical splendor and strangeness. Johansson achieved this moment by using mirrors on a stone pit. Transparent about his techniques and ideas, the artist even provides a behind the scenes video about the creative process!

 

 

Erik Johansson Endless Reflections

 

 

 

Erik Johansson Landfall

 

 

Erik Johansson Breaking Up

 

More images and information about the artistic process available on the artist’s website as well as Behance. As well, as a side note, Erik Johansson’s work is on exhibit at  Fotografiska (Swedish Museum of Photography) 26 February – 10 April 2016m Stockholm, Sweden