Thought the black and blue dress was an optical illusion? It's nothing compared to these mind-boggling pictures by a Swedish photographer, artist, and Photoshop genius. Erik Johansson, 30, who is based in Berlin, Germany, says he doesn’t capture moments, but instead captures ideas. He takes mundane scenarios, including houses, cars and streets and transforms them into optical illusions, which he describes as, 'surreal ideas realised in a realistic way with a touch of humour'. Scroll down for video . Swedish photographer, artist, and Photoshop genius, Erik Johansson, has created mind-boggling photos like this inside-out house that look different on each glance. In this image called The Architect the subject seems to be both inside and outside the house . Erik, born in Gotene, Sweden, who aims to challenge and perplex the viewer, uses his artistry to confuse people who look at his work. From  cars seemingly driving upside-down on bridges to spaces that, at a glance, appear to be a bedroom and then suddenly look like a field, his work is challenging, clever and full of subtle detail. Erik explains that he wants his work to evoke a problem-solving approach. Although one photo can consist of hundreds of different images merged into one, he always wants it to look like it could have snapped by a camera. He said: 'It’s the challenge: can I put this very weird idea in a photograph and make it look like it was just captured?' In a series of behind-the-scenes videos he gives an insight into his painstaking method. To make Landfall, a work of visual trickery that looks as though green fields - rather than water - are pouring over a cliff edge, he layered  235 separate images. He photographed the fields to provide the backdrop, then built a scale model of a house and landscape out of cardboard, which he covered in gloopy green paint and shot. He takes mundane scenarios and gives them a more interesting edge by flipping them on their head, like in Landfall . In Brain Games, a man is seen pulling aside the night sky as he would a curtain to reveal the dawn and green landscape before him . Using Photoshop, he turned the running paint into rolling fields and superimposed a photograph of a house on to the cardboard model, adding a photo of a water wheel to complete the fantastical and dramatic shot of a dreamy, bucolic landscape that seems to be falling over a cliff. On his website he writes: 'I get inspiration from all things around me. Anything from things I see in my daily life to other artist’s work and photography. I think it’s a lot about looking at the world from a different perspective. 'I think I get more inspiration from paintings rather than photos. But there are tons of inspiration online. Here are some websites and blogs I visit for inspiration.' He cites Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali and MC Escher as artistic influences. Each image can anything from a few weeks to years to create. Erik says each idea starts with a sketch and if he thinks it's good enough he will start planning how to do it. This image, entitled Don't Look Back, shows a woman walking down a winding road that's crumbling behind her every step . Is it a bedroom or a field? In Closing Out, interiors and exterior meld as one in this seemingly simple tableau . In the optical illusion Cover Up, a man is hiding his real view with a better, more idealised image on wallpaper which he hangs on a line . He said: 'Once I’ve come up with an idea that I think is good enough to realise I need to find the places I need to shoot to put the photo together. This can take anywhere between a few days to several months, sometimes years. 'This is the most important step as it defines the look and feel of the photo, it’s my raw material. This step also includes problem solving, how to make the reflections, materials etc realistic.' He then sets about collecting or creating all the aspects he needs to bring his vision to life. 'The final part is putting the photos together. This takes anything from a few days to several weeks. This is actually the easiest step, if I did a good job in the first and second step. 'This part is like a puzzle, I have all the pieces, I just need to put them together.' he said. Reverse Opposite is mind-bendig as, with an MC Escher drawing, the car seems both on and under the bridge at the same time . In Erik's description of this picture, called Cutting light, he describes it as 'the strongest light bulb there is. Cutting through wood, concrete and stone in just moments' This image is called Dreamwalking and  captures the state between dream world and reality . Although one photo can consist of lots of different images merged into one, he always wants it to look like it could have been captured as a whole picture. In Helping Fall, a woman is seen hoovering leaves off the tree to help the process along .
Swedish photographer, Erik Johansson, spends months photographing images to build up to the finished picture . Each image is made up of hundreds of separate shots and painstakingly detailed work by the expert retoucher . Erik, 30, said: 'Can I put this very weird idea in a photograph and make it look like it was just captured?'