Erik Johansson, born in 1985 in Sweden, is a photographer and visual artist now based in Prague. His work is known for surreal scenes built from many different photographs, blended so smoothly that the impossible starts to look strangely believable. He works on both personal and commissioned projects, creating images that feel like dreams stitched together with logic. Instead of capturing a moment, he captures an idea, using his camera as only the first step in a much bigger creative process.
He aims to make every surreal scene look as realistic as possible.
Even when the subject is impossible, the details feel grounded, like they could almost exist if the world bent just a little. For him, the work is a kind of problem solving, finding ways to photograph pieces that later become part of a larger illusion.
Erik grew up near the small town of Götene in southern Sweden. Life on a farm, surrounded by nature, shaped his imagination early. He loved drawing from the time he was small, maybe influenced by his grandmother who was a painter. When his mother asked about school, he preferred drawing a comic instead of explaining with words.
His father brought home a computer in the mid‑80s, and Erik quickly became interested in digital worlds.
At fifteen he got his first digital camera, a simple Fuji point‑and‑shoot. But taking a photo felt too quick, too finished. Drawing started with a blank page, but photography ended the moment you pressed the button. He wanted more control, more creation, so he began manipulating photos on the computer, doing small edits like changing colours or placing his sisters on the roof.
That curiosity grew into a passion for photo manipulation.
He studied natural science in high school and later moved to Gothenburg to study computer engineering at Chalmers University. Photography was still just a hobby until a friend bought a DSLR. The quality and control of the new camera pulled him back in, and he bought his own Canon EOS 400D the next year. With better tools, he returned to manipulation with new excitement, building the surreal style he is now known for.
Q: What makes Erik Johansson’s photography unique?
A: Erik Johansson blends many photos into one seamless scene, and Erik Johansson turns impossible ideas into realistic images.
Q: How did Erik Johansson start photo manipulation?
A: Erik Johansson began editing simple photos as a teen, and Erik Johansson used computers to create things a camera alone couldn’t capture.
Q: Where did Erik Johansson develop his early creativity?
A: Erik Johansson grew up on a Swedish farm surrounded by nature, and Erik Johansson learned expression through drawing and imagination.
“Dreams bend the edges of the world, and he photographs the place where they almost come true.”
