Alienating, depressing, soulless — you could describe many offices like that. Even if companies have realised that they must create welcoming environments that make their workers come to work happier and more motivated, especially in a post-pandemic world where remote work and the massive quiet quitting phenomenon are still shaking the very foundations of corporate culture, we still can find many dull spaces (to put it nicely). Lars Tunbjörk captured precisely that in his 2001 photo book Office, an incredible testimony of a time where technology promised a better future. Now, Loose Joints reissues that publication and adds another series, LA Office, which the Swedish photographer finished right before his passing in 2015.
The frenzy to enter the 21st century was full of excitement, illusion, hope, and thrill. Everyone dreamed of a future where technology took over — it’s just that they were thinking flying cars, spacecrafts, and super intelligent buildings, not what we have now. From Kylie Minogue’s music videos to the first X Men movie, everything looked clean, sharp, and new. While imagination run wild on possible future scenarios, everyday corporate culture started to thrive and trickle down in every aspect of society even more thanks to the technology that promised to change our lives for the best (fax machines, personal computers, mobile phones, the internet). Now, over twenty years later, we dare to ask: did it really make our lives easier?
Shot over twenty years ago, the Office and LA Office series by Tunbjörk look as contemporary as they did back then — it’s actually scary to see. They reflect what our environment does to people’s spirit, especially when talking about corporate culture: making their energy and determination dwindle. Workers conform to those impersonal cubicles and try to make the best out of it by putting in a plant (a sign of life, something that gets lost among these grey-dominated spaces), a photo of their loved ones, or some quirky element like a souvenir or a toy.
With an alien gaze, Lars was able to capture the everyday life of a type of space that was experiencing first-hand the turn-of-the-century radical changes. It was chaotic yet exciting since the old way of working was quickly evolving, making in hard to adapt. Still to this day, with the irruption of hyperconnectivity, Zoom meetings, and the ever-present yet invisible cloud, it is a constant struggle for many to stay up to date. Watching it now, Tunbjörk’s series are melancholic and nostalgic, but also have a somewhat foreshadowing aura around them. That’s what’s most incredible about them, and that’s why it makes sense to publish them again as a two-volume series.

Office, 77: Stockbroker, Tokyo 1999 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 08: Firm of accountants, New York 1997 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 29: Tax authority, Stockholm 1994 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 03: Food industry, Tokyo 1999 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 12: Lawyerʼs office, New York 1997 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 37: Car manufacturer, Gothenburg 1997 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 61: Civic administration, Tokyo 1996 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 50: Construction company, Tokyo 1999 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.

Office, 41: Stockbroker, Tokyo 1996 © Lars Tunbjörk courtesy Loose Joints.