Lars Tunbjörk's Office project, executed between 1994 and 1999, offers a candid exploration of corporate environments across New York, Tokyo, and Stockholm. At this juncture, Tunbjörk had already established himself internationally, particularly following his acclaimed 1993 series "Country Beside Itself," which delved into Swedish culture. With "Office," he turned his lens to the universal landscapes of the modern workplace.
Set against the backdrop of the late 1990s—a period marked by rapid technological advancements and the dawning of the digital age—Tunbjörk's work captures the essence of office life amid the increasing presence of digital technology in office spaces. His images document spaces filled with bulky computer monitors, tangled wires, and an abundance of paperwork, reflecting a time when offices were on the cusp of a technological transformation.
In Office, Tunbjörk offers a sharp yet subtle critique of corporate culture, exposing its monotony and underlying absurdity. He sought to unveil the "soul-sapping environments of corporate spaces", highlighting how these spaces can dehumanize and isolate their occupants. Visually, the series is characterized by its use of stark lighting and a muted color palette dominated by grays and off-whites, which enhance the depiction of dreary work spaces. Tunbjörk's compositions often create a sense of claustrophobia, with low-angle shots making ceilings appear oppressively low, and corridors that seem to stretch endlessly, emphasizing the isolating architecture of office layouts.
Tunbjörk used a medium-format camera with flash to create a direct and unembellished aesthetic. This approach illuminated the often-overlooked details of office life, from the cluttered desks to the impersonal décor, reinforcing the banality and uniformity of these environments.
First circulated as the photobook Office (Journal, 2001), the series moved quickly into exhibitions: Noorderlicht’s Sense of Space (2001); Akademie der Künste, Berlin (2002); and the solo Home/Office at the Hasselblad Center, Göteborg (2002). Later presentations included solos at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool (2007), and Cohen Amador Gallery, New York (2007), plus the group show Work/Place at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago (2008). Posthumously it has anchored retrospectives such as A View from the Side at Fotografiska, Stockholm (2018) and New York (2019), with a further showing at the American Swedish Institute (2025).
