These mesmerising photographs are by Norwegian artist Simen Johan, drawn from his ongoing project, 'Until the Kingdom Comes.'

Depicting an unsettling natural world hovering between reality, fantasy and nightmare, Johan merges traditional photographic and sculptural techniques with digital methods.

According to Yossi Milo Gallery in New York, where Johan last exhibited the images at the end of 2011, the artist begins by photographing a variety of plants and animals in natural preserves, zoos, farms, museum dioramas or his own studio, and then resituates them digitally into new environments constructed from images photographed elsewhere.

In his work, Johan creates tension and blurs the boundaries between opposing forces, such as the familiar and the otherworldly, the natural and the artificial, the serene and the eerie.

While some photographs in the series reference Biblical motifs, Johan says that his choice of title, 'Until the Kingdom Comes' ...

“...refers less to religious or natural kingdoms and more to the human fantasy that one day, in some way, life will come to a blissful resolution. …In a reality where understanding is not finite and in all probability never will be, I depict ‘living’ as an emotion-fueled experience, engulfed in uncertainty, desire and illusion.”

We're hoping this show goes on the road again soon - we'll let you know if we hear anything.