Erik Johansson (artist)

Erik Johansson (born April 1985) is a Swedish-born artist based in Prague who creates surreal images by recombining photographs and other materials. He captures ideas by combining images in new ways to create what looks like a real photograph, yet with logical inconsistencies to impart an effect of surrealism. 
Biography.
Erik Johannson grew up in rural Sweden that is the setting for many of his well-known images. His first camera was given to him when he was 15 years old and his mother was a painter. He studied Computer Engineering at Chalmers University in Gothenburg and has worked for multinational companies such as Google, Ikea and Microsoft.
He became self-employed when he moved to Norrköping. He became known since his student days after having uploaded some projects on the internet and responded to many commission requests. In 2012 he moved permanently to Germany, living in Berlin for several years, and eventually decided to move to the nearby Czech capital.
His witty and striking creations have been defined by some authors as impossible photography.
Creative Process.
Some finished images are the combination of "hundreds of original photographs" as well as raw materials, and Johansson spends dozens of hours using image manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop to alter the image digitally and to illustrate his idea. Reporter Robert Krulwich wrote that Johansson creates a "meticulous fantasy" which is "part photograph, part construction, part drawing" with "so many layers of foolery in his images, you can't pull the illusion apart, it fits together so perfectly."