In 2019, Eirik Johnson was commissioned by the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture to photograph the last days of the Alaska Way Viaduct, an iconic elevated highway along the waterfront edge of Seattle, as it was unwoven from the fabric of the city. During the weeks after the Viaduct had closed to traffic but before demolition began, he made multiple walks along the entire lower level of the highway, photographing back at the city. This vista, a cinematic slice of Seattle framed top and bottom by the Brutalist structure of the Viaduct, had been an iconic perspective for anyone traveling along the highway as it made its way, at times within feet, passed the city. Johnson continued to photograph the Viaduct throughout the entire process of its demolition. These photographs offer a visual reminder of that shared and unique perspective, now a part of the city’s collective history.
Photographic artist Eirik Johnson (b. 1974, Seattle) makes conceptually grounded work examining the intersections of contemporary environmental, social, and economic issues both in America and abroad. Employing various modes of presentation from photobooks to experiential photo and sound-based installation, Johnson’s photographic projects explore the marks and connections formed in the friction of this complicated relationship. He has exhibited his work at institutions including the Aperture Foundation, NY, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston MA, and the Museum of Modern Art, NY. Johnson’s work is in the permanent collections of institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the International Center of Photography, NY, and the Nevada Art Museum, Reno, NV.
© Text and pictures by Eirik Johnson.