artists     stories    image-search     news    contact

Blue Donkey & Red Elephant 

© Jens Schwarz

The longform multimedia documentary project explores the dichotomous political identities within the American society. It’s an investigation of diverging ways of life, social settings, perceptions and behaviors within the political spectrum.

The work comprises photography, video and audio, thus assembling, contrasting and balancing diverse voices and notions in a complex narrative. Also using the foreground of the political campaigning and the electoral process for the 2020 Primary Elections, my intention was to look at the sociological backgrounds and establish a deeper and more subtle visual narrative in a comprehensive form.

The project is structured in 22 consecutive episodes with coherent stories and openly looks at both sides of what has been strategically constructed, maintained and exploited as a so called social division.

The whole body of work comes as a result of open anthropological field research, and every viewer and recipient is invited to eventually form his or her own view!



click to view the complete set of images in the archive
check out the project website

Westwood is a suburban neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Once a year the Harvest Home parade is held, featuring a variety of traditionalist, nationalist and militarist presentations and performances.



Ethan and his father offering their Mossberg AR15 MMR Tactical Generation 2 Cal 5.56 for sale outside the C&E Gun Show, Sharonville Convention Center, Sharonville, Ohio
Desirae from the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area conduc- ting a voter registration training for women. The nonpartisan political organization encourages informed and active participation in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. It covers information on who may vote, how to register, absentee voting, election day voting and provisional ballots.




With her earned income, Chandler would not be able to buy a car; Though, she wanted to be more in- dependent and decided to lease one, South Fairmont, Cincinnati, Ohio
The ›NAACP Candidates Forum‹ hosts candidates from the Democratic Party to pre- sent themselves to the community; Cincinnati, Ohio


The Primary Election 2020, voting place Pct 109, Hawthorne Ln, Charlotte, North Carolina


Jack lives alone with his daughter Chandler in South Fairmont, one of Cincinnati’s we- stern suburbs, as his spouse and Chandler’s mother died several years ago. Jack works as a gardener and handyman. Chandler finished high school and now works for DHL.

Vismaya knocking on doors for a Democratic Candidate, Cincinnati, Ohio
The ›NAACP Candidates Forum‹ Cincinnati, Ohio


Trump supporters applaud during his rally at Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Trump rally, Charlotte, North Carolina

President Donald Trump adressing his supporters on March, 2nd 2020; Charlotte, North Carolina

Institute Artist is redefining how stories are produced and told. Representing auteur-driven storytellers, we bring together talent across commercials, photography, fine art, and film. Founded by Matt Shonfeld and Frank Evers. Institute Artists multi-platform production expertise, and established global relationships in entertainment, fine art, and journalism make for unmatched reach and cross-pollination of creative work. Institute Artist has been a leading advocate of the power of underrepresented talent and is fully committed to bringing these authentic voices to our clients by helping them tell compelling and entertaining stories that better connect with their audiences.