Lars Tunbjörk’s major breakthrough came in 1993 with the image series and photo book “Landet utom sig”. His sharp observations of small-town life in transition were highly appreciated, and his unique style was cemented in the project “I Love Borås!”. The book was published in 2006 and contains not only images from Tunbjörk’s hometown but also a large number of photographs taken during his travels between 1989 and 1996.

Tunbjörk’s images are at once melancholic, surreal, and sometimes slightly absurd. His way of noticing details, as well as selecting framing and subjects, was unique. His perspective was distinctive because, with the help of the camera, he could reveal what was invisible to the rest of us: an image of ourselves and our society. His subjects always revolve around everyday life—the life unfolding here and now for ordinary people; shopping for cheap clothes at Ullared, a dirty slide in Borås, or a messy office in Tokyo. Through his conceptual photography, Tunbjörk successfully combines documentation with humor. A similar approach can be found in the work of the British photographer Martin Parr.

“Tunbjörkare” became a term as early as the 1990s, influencing the way we see and inspiring filmmakers and photographers around the world. This was partly due to his unusual photographic technique: Tunbjörk used flash in daylight with a self-constructed device that spread light evenly across all parts of the image and reduced depth. The result is unforgiving—showing pale winter skin, the tangle of cables under a desk, the garish colors of shopping malls, and the absurdity of amusement park decorations.

In 2023, around 300 of Tunbjörk’s images were exhibited at Fabriken Bästekille in Österlen, one of the largest exhibitions ever dedicated to his work. Last year (2025), a retrospective exhibition was shown at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, alongside a stage performance inspired by Tunbjörk’s photography at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, directed by Anna Vnuk.

Lars Tunbjörk is represented in collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, as well as Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and Borås Konstmuseum