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Biography
Johan Töpel, who used to be an assistant to Johan Fowelin, often chooses a perspective which highlights a place in an unusual manner thereby giving it an air of intermediacy. In his work he is also inspired by Stephen Shore, Andreas Gursky and Candida Höfer. Their images often are dominated by a cool, stiff and diplomatic aesthetic that keeps the viewer at a distance. His own images, however, are comparatively characterised by a sympathetic closeness. In some of his works, the perspective he chooses gives a feeling of a cul-de-sac, as if there was no horizon. This often has the effect of making the viewer gain a more bodily sensation, rather than a mere visual experience.
With a strong sense for the interaction between materials, light and form, he creates intricate scenes that draw in the viewer, generating a resonate experience of scent, sound and movement in these places. The viewer is encouraged to engage with the seemingly dull, empty spaces in a more conscious way; to contemplate the traces of human presence and consumer society as well as the relationship between nature and cityscape. Instead of merely being a witness, the viewer is invited to partake, as both an observer and philosopher, to step between the depicted scene and the camera.