Fabrik

Jakob Tuggener's «Fabrik», published in Zurich in 1943, is considered a milestone in the history of the photo book. This ‘pictorial epic of technology’ is orientated towards the expressionist silent film aesthetic in its associative sequence of photographs. It conveys a sceptical view of the destructive potential of unbridled technological progress - at a time when the Swiss arms industry was producing weapons for the Second World War.

Tuggener's uncompromisingly subjective photography and his critical stance did not fit in with his time. «Fabrik» was not a commercial success - the edition was sold off, and in some cases probably even cancelled. Now the now sought-after classic is being reissued for the first time, as a reprint with an up-to-date afterword.