The Echo Chamber showing at the Nobel Peace Center

"The Echo Chamber" is Swedish artist Erik Johansson's first exhibition in Norway. The exhibition was a success at Fotografiska in Stockholm last year and is now being shown for the first time outside Sweden. Erik Johansson has taken the world by storm with his surreal yet realistic images. In "The Echo Chamber," he explores how we perceive the world around us and plays with the idea of what may happen if we dare to look beyond the edge of our own echo chambers and burst the filter bubbles around us.

“The Nobel Peace Center is proud to be first in Norway to show Erik Johanssons fantastic pictures. Photography has always been important to the center, and we highly appreciate the cooperation we have with Fotografiska on this exhibition”, says the Nobel Peace Center’s Executive Director Kjersti Fløgstad.

Three works – three themes

The exhibition is built around three of Johansson's photographic works: "The Echo Chamber," "Filter Bubbles," and "Painting a World of Our Own." Around each of the photographs, a unique universe is created where the audience can enter and become part of the artwork, reflecting upon their own echo chambers and filter bubbles.

“Daring to take a step into the unknown and leave your comfort zone is something that has been recurring in my work for many years. It's a fairly broad subject that can be illustrated in many ways, but here I have worked more specifically with how we construct our own separate worlds”, says Erik Johansson.

The title work explores the echo chamber; the phenomenon that arises when a group of like-minded people only share information and thoughts with each other, thus reinforcing their own and each other's viewpoints. Erik Johansson shows the liberation that can come from looking beyond the edge of the echo chamber and taking in new perspectives. The second work deals with the filter bubbles we all have around us, through which we filter information. Filter bubbles are created both by the algorithms of digital media and by our own backgrounds, prejudices, perceptions, and values. In Erik Johansson's representation, the bubble that separates us from a more nuanced worldview becomes visible – and possible to burst. The possibility of this more nuanced and composite world is more explored in the 3rd work, "Painting a World of Our Own."

"In a public debate that seems increasingly polarized, we need curiosity and openness to others' perspectives to protect and preserve democracy. The Echo Chamber is an important reminder of the opportunity we all have to influence the public conversation," says Kjersti Fløgstad.