Per Johansen

This is a selection of still life images from a series entitled Mæt (Full) by Danish photographer Per Johansen. The work deals with the notion that we as human beings find it increasingly difficult to know when we've had enough.

Johansen has chosen to address our vast consumption, by stuffing everyday foods into plastic containers, which ascribes to our consumer mentality and excessive consumption. I do however question how he has managed to stuff some of the food items into the plastic bottles. The image featuring numerous chicken legs for example, can not have been filled in the implied manner, that is through the top of the bottle. It’s possible that a suitably sized section has been cut out of the back of each object. Unfortunately, that somewhat defeats the concept.

His decision to take the food out of its usual context and photograph it against an almost clinical background results in a set of repulsive and salient images. Although the series incorporates a multitude of foods, this is best represented by the various meats. The images would work better as a set and their clinical nature furthered if the backgrounds were entirely consistent.