Michael Johansson

ARTIST

Born 1975 in Trollhättan

Michael Johannson from Sweden searches flea markets, junk shops and trash for everyday items to form three dimensional sculptures. His works now sell for 2000 to 12 thousand euros. Johannson studied art in Berlin and Stockholm and completed his masters degree in Norway.

I am fascinated walking around flea markets finding doubles of seemingly unique, though often useless objects I have already purchased at another flea market. Despite the fact that I did not have any use for them even the first time, the desire to own two of these objects becomes too strong to resist. The unique and unknown origin of the object increases my desire to want the double – the unlikelihood of this sensation repeating itself produces an attraction that is too strong to resist.

This combination of the now-familiar and the new-unknown are among the various factors that come together to create the irresistible pull of these objects.  This re-iterated fascination and the overwhelming desire that follows is central to my art practice.

I am intrigued by irregularities in daily life. Not those that appear when something extraordinary occurs, but those that are created by an exaggerated form of regularity. Colours or patterns from two separate objects or environments concur, like when two people pass each other dressed in the exact same outfit. Or when you are switching channels on your TV and realize that the same actor is playing two different roles on two different channels at the same time. Or that one day the parking lot contained only red cars.

These irregularities, these coincidences, are another focus of my artwork.

 michaeljohansson.com

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