Halbstarke

In 1958, Zürich photographer Karlheinz Weinberger first captured the likeness of Halbstarke (rebel) Jimmy Oechslin, an artistic moment which marks the genesis of this collection of images focused on young Swiss teenagers. That particular photographic encounter triggered Weinberger’s life-long fascination with outsiders and nonconformists in the otherwise staid environment of Switzerland. The photographs presented in this first of several volumes about his work offer a rare glimpse into a bygone world that seems almost cute and quaint from a contemporary perspective, but make no mistake: just dressing in jeans and hanging chains around one’s neck was a statement as loud as blasting music by Buddy Holly on a quiet Swiss Sunday afternoon.