A Sudden Drop features photographs of clothing found on streets in a central part of Oslo. The book is part of a larger body of work that includes cartographical material, sculptures and installations. The theme of these works—consumer consumption and decay in a specific geographical area—takes on a
somewhat abstract and scientific tone. Jóhannsson’s photographic method
follows up ideas he has explored in earlier publications:
instrumentality is juxtaposed with temporality yet also infused with
consumer aesthetics and technical misunderstandings. The booklet Eight and a Half Days, which documents what happens to the articles of clothing pictured in A Sudden Drop, is in some respects like a redundant insert; it can also be understood as a completing coda to the photographic book or as an independent work.