The Swedish photographer Lars Tunbjörk (1956–2015) had his major breakthrough with Landet utom sig / Country Beside Itself in 1993. The project began as a magazine assignment about Sweden but gradually grew into something more—something truthful, though perhaps not particularly beautiful.
Tunbjörk traveled across the country, letting his flash illuminate some of Sweden’s most unattractive environments. His gaze felt almost alien. In front of his camera, the world appeared unreal.
People laughed and admired the images—but the photographer also faced criticism for what some perceived as a cynical view of his subjects. He himself was surprised by this. He did not feel that he was photographing “others,” but rather saw himself as a natural part of the Sweden he documented. It was about us, not them.
Tunbjörk began his career as a teenage press photographer at the local newspaper Borås Tidning, later shifting his focus to Stockholm and eventually working internationally.
Humor and melancholy coexist in his images. Many also carry a subtle social critique, aimed at the hyper-commercial, loudly colorful, yet often lonely world he portrayed.
Several of his books have become highly sought-after collector’s items, including Kontor / Office, Home, I Love Borås, and Winter. The most coveted of all has been Landet utom sig / Country Beside Itself, which was reissued in 2025.
Lena Kvist is a Swedish journalist and PhD candidate at University of Gothenburg, within the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication. She is currently working on an academic dissertation on Lars Tunbjörk and Swedish press photography in the 1990s.
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