Arbeit – Le Travail

'Arbeit. Fotografien aus der Schweiz 1860-2015' presents photographic images of labour in Switzerland spanning more than 150 years. The photographs document not only the visible changes that have taken place in the various worlds of work, but also the history of labour photography itself. Over the course of time, people have increasingly moved to the centre of the picture: as nameless representatives of a profession, as part of a ‘working family’ in a picture of a workforce and finally as individual employees and the company's most important asset. Individual professional biographies make the changes in work and the personal approach to it comprehensible. Discussions about photographs bring back memories of everyday and special moments and allow the professional ethos to emerge. Contributions from industrial psychology and sociology shed light on current trends and the significance of work for our image of ourselves and others. And finally, the most beautiful blossoms of new job titles are humorously reduced to absurdity.