Home | Podcast | Intervals: Creative responses to space with Johan F. Karlsson

Intervals: Creative responses to space with Johan F. Karlsson

Intervals: Creative responses to space with Johan F. Karlsson

In this podcast, you’ll learn how Johan F. Karlsson uses observation, intuition, and the concept of ma to shape site-specific installations that reveal subtle changes in space and time.

In this interview, Johan F. Karlsson explores the creative process behind Against the Day. Against the Day is a dual-channel video installation that surrounds audiences with a streak of sunlight and its recorded echo, revealing how time and perception unfold through subtle spatial shifts. The installation is part of the exhibition Forever Is Nothing, developed during Johan’s residency at Space Department—a Japanese artist residency house focused on architecture and context-based practice.

Johan F. Karlsson is a Swedish artist whose work investigates time, space, and ephemeral processes. His practice spans video, performance, photography, and sculpture. He holds an MA in Photography from Aalto University and a BA in Culture and Arts from Novia University of Applied Sciences.

Listen to this podcast to learn about:

  • How the concept of ma guided a process of waiting, noticing, and responding
  • How intuition and site-specific observation replace fixed planning in creative workflows
  • How time becomes both material and subject in durational video installation

 

Subscribe using your favourite podcast player or RSS

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts   |  Spotify   |  Amazon Music  |   Android   |   Instagram   |   RSS

Chapters

  • (00:00:00) Introduction and acknowledgements
  • (00:00:38) Exploring the concept of 'ma'
  • (00:01:21) Artistic process and residency experience
  • (00:02:43) Creating 'Against the day'
  • (00:04:37) Creating 'The space that remains'
  • (00:07:53) Reflections on artistic practice
  • (00:15:07) Advice for aspiring artists
  • (00:16:15) Conclusion and farewell

About Johan F. Karlsson  

Johan F. Karlsson is a Malmö-based artist whose work spans photography, video, performance, and sculptural installations using natural materials. With an MA in Photography from Aalto University and a BA in Culture and Arts from Novia University, his practice explores time, space, and perception through slow, ephemeral processes. Drawing on site-specific phenomena and the transience of materials, Johan's work invites viewers into a deeper connection with the rhythms of nature and the passage of time. His installations often examine how change and duration shape human experience.

Takeaways from this interview with Johan F. Karlsson

The Japanese concept ma as an anchor

“I wanted to learn about the Japanese concept of ma, which is an interval or a brief silence. Ma is the gap between things in a very broad sense, it can be related to both art and daily life in many ways.”

During his residency at the Space Department in Nara, Japan, Johan explored the Japanese concept of ma—the interval or gap between things—as a way of working with time and space. His approach treats ma not just as a spatial principle but as a lived, temporal condition that influences perception, structure, and attention.

Creative process and observation

“I believe in letting the work come to you. Against the Day happened when I was sitting, doing nothing. The light moved, and I noticed it. That became the work.”

Johan doesn’t begin with a fixed idea. Instead, his process is driven by presence and responsiveness. He allows the environment to speak first, using light, space, and daily rhythms to guide the emergence of a piece.

Working with architectural space

“I wanted to let the space talk before I made anything.”

The Space Department—a renovated traditional Japanese house—shaped not only Johan’s work, but his movement and awareness. He describes adapting his body to the building’s architecture, noticing how these adjustments became part of his process. The stairwell became a key site, reinforcing how space becomes both a medium and collaborator.

Time and duration as material

“Time moves through everything we do. It shapes the stone in a sculpture, it edits a video, and it defines how we perceive an installation.”

This quote reveals Johan’s interest in temporal dynamics over material production. His work focuses on experiential conditions that unfold slowly, using medium as a vehicle rather than an endpoint. Time isn’t just a measurement—it’s a subject, method, and partner in his work.

Letting go of fixed outcomes

“In the studio, I often know what I’m doing the next day. But in a residency, you meet people, respond to places, and everything changes.”

The residency context encouraged Johan to work differently. Instead of pre-planning, he allowed encounters and spaces to direct the work. This shift led to experimentation and intuitive decisions—key to both of the works he developed in Nara.

Advice for artists

“Try something outside your comfort zone. Let intuition lead. Don’t feel you have to produce constantly—you are your art.”

Johan encourages artists to explore residencies that challenge their assumptions and routines. For him, growth comes from risk, patience, and observation—not output. Time spent waiting or watching can be as valuable as time spent making.

Links from this podcast with Johan F. Karlsson

Posted 31-05-2025