Lars Tunbjörk
Lars Tunbjörk (1956–2015)
Lars Tunbjörk was a Swedish photographer whose distinctive, colorful imagery redefined documentary photography. Known for his deadpan yet empathetic portrayals of suburban life, office environments, and post-industrial landscapes, Tunbjörk captured the absurdities and melancholies of modern existence with a sharp, critical eye. His use of highly saturated colors, harsh flash, and unconventional vantage points—such as low angles or distant perspectives—transformed mundane scenes into surreal, thought-provoking compositions. Iconic works like Food Industry, Tokyo, 1999, depicting a woman obscured in a sterile office, and Oland, 1991, showing a couple under tiny umbrellas in a suburban setting, exemplify his ability to find beauty and critique in the everyday.
Tunbjörk began his career as a photojournalist in the 1970s, working for Swedish newspapers like Aftonbladet and Stockholms-Tidningen from the age of 15. His early black-and-white work evolved into a vibrant exploration of color, inspired by 1970s American photographers like William Eggleston. His breakthrough came with the 1993 series Landet Utom Sig (Country Beside Itself), a playful yet incisive portrait of Swedish society that challenged idealized notions of the welfare state. Subsequent projects, including Office (2001), Home (2003), and Winter (2007), further explored themes of commercialism, isolation, and societal change. His 2001 photobook Office, reissued in 2024 with a previously unpublished LA Office series, remains a seminal critique of corporate monotony. Tunbjörk’s work is held in prestigious collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Maison Européenne de la Photographie. He exhibited globally at venues like the Museum of Photography in Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, and TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes. His photographs have fetched prices between $213 and $6,355 at auction, with a record sale of $6,355 for Midsommar I Rättvik at Bukowskis, Stockholm, in 2016. Following his sudden death in 2015, the Lars Tunbjörk Foundation, curated by his wife, filmmaker Maud Nycander, preserves his legacy. Tunbjörk’s influence extends to younger Scandinavian and European photographers, cementing his status as a pivotal figure in contemporary photography.
