Mind Your Step
Erik Johansson · Stockholm
Artwork by Erik Johansson. Photo as published on Street Art Utopia; photographer not credited, camera date unconfirmed.
Swedish photographer Erik Johansson made the paving of Sergels torg, Stockholm's Plattan, look as if it had broken open into a rocky pit. It was not paint: a large printed mat was rolled out on the square for a few days in June 2011, as part of Microsoft's Generation 7 project. Source Source Source Checked
Gone Jun 2011 — the Chalmers alumni blog reported on 14 June 2011 that the installation stood on the square from 7 to 12 June and had been removed. Source Reported
💡 4 things to know
- A mat, not a holeWhat looks like a bottomless abyss was a 32 × 18 metre mat rolled out on the ground, according to the Chalmers alumni blog; an Italian news report also describes a printed sheet laid on the square. Source Source Checked
- Made with MicrosoftJohansson was one of seven creative talents chosen for Microsoft's Generation 7 project, which gave him the chance to make the illusion; his own site lists it as sponsored by Microsoft. Source Source Checked
- Six days on the squareThe blog reports that Mind Your Step was installed on the square between 7 and 12 June 2011 and was removed afterwards. Source Reported
- Seen from a podiumJohansson said people stood up at the podium almost all the time, taking photos and interacting with the image. Source Reported
📍 Where it is
Sergels torg (Plattan), central Stockholm, Sweden. The installation was temporary and has been removed. Source Source Checked
🗓️ Sightings
- 20118 Jun
Holger.Ellgaard photographs the installation (Wikimedia Commons)
- 20119 Jun
Blitz Quotidiano reports the illusion at Sergels torg
- 201114 Jun
Removed after 7–12 June, Chalmers blog reports
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
“Det som ser ut som en bottenlös avgrund är i själva verket en 32×18 meter stor matta som rullats ut på marken.”
What looks like a bottomless abyss is in fact a 32×18 metre mat rolled out on the ground.
“si tratta infatti di un’illusione ottica, che consiste in un telo con l’immagine della pavimentazione “aperta” steso a terra.”
It is in fact an optical illusion: a sheet bearing the image of the “opened” paving, laid on the ground.
✅ The facts
🔗 Related
- The Ground Gave Way (14 Photos) — Street Art Utopia
- Mind Your Step in Stockholm — Street Art Utopia
- Erik Johansson: commissioned work
- All Artwork Files
All sources & image credits
- erikjo.com: Commissioned work (Mind Your Step, 2011)
- chalmeristbloggen.wordpress.com: Chalmeristen som byggde ett hål på Sergels torg (14 June 2011)
- blitzquotidiano.it: Un buco in piazza a Stoccolma: ma è un’illusione ottica (9 June 2011)
- Wikimedia Commons: Hålet i Plattan 2011.jpg (Holger.Ellgaard, 8 June 2011, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Image: as published on Street Art Utopia (photographer not credited); converted, and a 16:9 share version with blurred sides.
Last checked: 31 October 2026. How we verify art