Artist statement

To be honest, I don’t love doing an "artist statement". I accept that it's a condition and in some cases, it can work well to "explain" the work of art to people that need it. So my statement is short and as clear as possible:

My work:
I’m mainly searching for other ways or sides. Not only for a better side or the opposite, but rather trying to uncover. I want to find out if a subject is in full harmony or if it’s fighting itself. You never know. The subject can seem in perfect harmony from one perspective, but from another side, it may reveal total chaos or something in between. It is just as obscure as human nature. 

I’ve got a heart and I’ve got a brain. To me they are equal. My ideas always originate from one of them. Mostly, it is a feeling which gets me started. Even if the idea is conceptual, I have discovered that it was aroused by a more or less subconscious mood or feeling.
My methods are heart and brain. In some projects, I intend to influence the viewer emotionally and thus hope it will start up the brain. In other projects, when I want to comment on some matters, I start off with the brain and that way lead the viewer to his heart. 
My goal is to combine the two elements in a way which shows the complexity of a subject. I think that in all matters in life, these two elements, heart and brain, are present. Often, they are in dire conflict, and I want to investigate this "crime" and look for something that will make them "good friends".

My subject matter:
All I see in this world. I am sure - in the end - everything is equally important: "Alt er såre godt", a Danish philosopher (Martinus, 1921-1981) said, which means something like: "everything is only good". My motifs are based on this idea, that meaning is everywhere and in everything. Thus there are no limits.

Why:
The world is a tough place to live in. Man’s preferred means of communication is words. For me this does not cover it. I think that Man still has a lot to uncover, and for that you need different tools. One of them is photography, and I chose the camera. A photograph is based on real, material, even moving things that we may all see and recognize - a language accessible to all. Still, when you freeze it, it becomes sort of unreal, just as if you could stop a thought. It’s not progressive, like films, music and stories; when you look at a picture, you are in a way forced to immerse yourself in a frozen moment. I find that so interesting and that is what makes me get out of bed and go to do what I do.


Per Johansen