Johannes Samuelsson is an artist and documentary photographer based in Umeå with an MFA from School of Photography in Gothenburg. In his art, he mixes photographic everyday and contemporary documentation with essayistic and journalistic writing. He combines artistic interventions with large and lengthy documentation projects where he uses documentary photography and prose text. Samuelsson has worked in collaborative projects with a hot dog vendor, a scrap metal worker, architects, researchers and café owners, and has published 5 photo and text books under his own label. Prominent themes in Samuelsson’s art are public space, housing conditions for migrant workers and food/sandwiches.
This exhibition will be Johannes Samuelsson’s first solo exhibition with only drawings, something he has worked with since 2016. Drawing has been a companion during difficult times and in life crises and is now transformed into an everyday activity. He draws while waiting for the children to fall asleep, at dinner, while the TV is on or when the children themselves are drawing or playing. Sometimes they help. Sheets are filled with scenes from children’s books, with pictures of buildings and nature scenes. The careful repetition bears traces of memories, care and attempts to capture something permanent in a changing life. The style is naive, the expression is detailed with pencil and watercolor and hopefully the exhibition will be overwhelming. The day after the opening, Johannes will be on site at Galleri Box from 14.00 and draw for a few hours if you want to see the process or chat a little.