ADVERTISEMENT

It's sad to see that youthfulness and playfulness often disappear when you grow up. Everything becomes kind of bland. We stop enjoying the little things in life. But what if those simple things were a little bit more playful and fun themselves? Let's take the streets, for example. We walk through them almost every day and they're usually pretty meh. But what if they had hidden Easter eggs that would make your day a little brighter?

That's what Johan Karlgen has in mind when he creates his street art. The Swedish artist creates pixelated art pieces that make bland locations much more interesting. They almost always interact with their environment and even though they are not realistic, they blend in very well. His themes usually range from video games to movies to other pop-culture references. Johan went viral on Reddit recently because of his transformed concrete barriers in a parking lot. He made them into a Toblerone chocolate bar.

Johan has been featured on Bored Panda before, click here and here to see the previous articles.

More info: Instagram | pappasparlor.bigcartel.com

We got an interview from Johan Karlgen and asked him what the main goal of his street art is and how he got into art: "To make myself and other people happy. It's been a lifetime love story. I studied arts in high school just to be able to go to another city to live and skateboard. But in the end, creating stuff with my hands and mind ended up being my calling."

#2

This Artist Is Going Viral By Turning Concrete Barriers Into A Giant Toblerone (+ More Of His Pics)

pappasparlor Report

Add photo comments
POST
mrkette avatar
Mary Rose Kent
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have never stopped missing Calvin & Hobbes...Bill Watterson, your lunch break is over—it’s time to come back and catch us up on our favorite boy-and-tiger couple!

View more commentsArrow down menu

We asked the artist what the most difficult part of creating his art pieces is: "The craft in creating Perler creations is the ironing part. That’s what you can get really good at."

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Johan shared what topics he likes to create about: "Anything that makes me feel something. It could be anything from childhood memories to politics or people doing awesome stuff that I wanna interpret." The artist also mentioned that the style of his street art is quite playful and fun: "I don’t really choose what to create. My work is sprung from playing, and I’ll try to go with the ideas that come up in my head."

"I started doing this in 2015 or something. I got tired of shooting my stuff in my studio and moved outside. I’ll continue till I run out of ideas."

Johan tells us what keeps him inspired to create: "The fun of it. Since it’s a hobby that got out of hand, I promised myself to only chase the fun of it. Luckily I’ve got people supporting me cause my kids can’t eat likes."

ADVERTISEMENT
#8

This Artist Is Going Viral By Turning Concrete Barriers Into A Giant Toblerone (+ More Of His Pics)

pappasparlor Report

ADVERTISEMENT

"I’ve never had a bad experience in the streets. I call my street art 'civil disobedience with a conscience' meaning, for example, that I don’t paint on people's private property but focus on weird, broken (often ugly) things in the streets. And that’s probably why no one minds."

#10

This Artist Is Going Viral By Turning Concrete Barriers Into A Giant Toblerone (+ More Of His Pics)

pappasparlor Report

Add photo comments
POST
sharonfaust avatar
Kookamunga
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don't break 'em for no one!"

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

"Make things that make you happy," said Johan when asked what advice he would give to artists that are just starting out.

The artist gives us some facts about himself and his life: "I’m a father of four who loves gaming and skateboards every now and then. My wife has come to terms that I’ll never fully grow up."

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#18

This Artist Is Going Viral By Turning Concrete Barriers Into A Giant Toblerone (+ More Of His Pics)

pappasparlor Report

Add photo comments
POST
augustmansfield avatar
daking
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"you shall not pass!" pedestrian steps on him, "ok, you might pass!"

View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

This Artist Is Going Viral By Turning Concrete Barriers Into A Giant Toblerone (+ More Of His Pics)

pappasparlor Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#30

This Artist Is Going Viral By Turning Concrete Barriers Into A Giant Toblerone (+ More Of His Pics)

pappasparlor Report

Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.