Johann Kööp – Phantoms Among Imaginations

An empty apartment implies that no one lives there, but one could wonder about the imaginations and memories lingering in those silent rooms. Through the images in Phantoms Among Imaginations, the apartment becomes a representation of the mind, hosting scenes of raw imagination, unbothered by rational thought. We might consider a fully decorated room; a space loaded with memories and life experiences, to be a life goal. In this situation, the thought of nothing being there appears most unsettling. While we let these spaces challenge our imaginations, they propose an undefinable number of options and opportunities. The mere multiplicity of the situation is destined to make one overwhelmed with the potential of that empty space, fearful of a state of heightened entropy. Resulting in a kind of dangerous emptiness, one that feels indefinable, and eventually reveals itself as the opposite. We feel the space between the decisions, an uncertainty which makes it unable to get a hold of a choice that feels right.

Johann Kööp is a visual artist from Estonia, currently living and working in London. Kööp works most prominently with photography, reflecting on collective and individual experiences with communication in the complex contemporary world. The work is informed most notably through personal encounters and observations, which turns into a playful clash of subjectivity and objectivity. What we see is a world of abstractions and surreal indefinable emotions, attempting to navigate a realm of comprehension by finding a starting point in commonly accepted beliefs around society. Delving into possible mental complications and distortions of the self, highlighting anxious reactions to everyday life. Through strong colour and intense light, the work returns to the intensity that had once inspired it, becoming reflections of the self which might have been otherwise overlooked.