Mathias Braschler / Monika Fischer, Divided We Stand

When Donald Trump was elected to be the forty-fifth president of the United States, Swiss photographers Monika Fischer and Mathias Braschler were in New York. The results of the election and the current events show a deep divide running through the US and its society. Trump did not reduce this divide in his first term as president, as the riots in May/June 2020 proofed. Monika Fischer and Mathias Braschler decided to go on a field-research trip through the US in order to meet the people, from all parts of the country and all parts of society. They set out from New York City in April 2019, and in the following months they drove through forty American states. They met, interviewed, filmed, and made portraits of Americans with a wide variety of backgrounds and very different opinions about life, politics, and their nation. From farmers, service people, and investment bankers to politicians and students, all ages, races, professions, and genders are included in this photographic project capturing a nation that currently finds itself approaching a crucial junction and needs to decide which road to take. Divided We Stand is the result of this intensive and fascinating journey. It combines sixty-five portraits of American citizens and their honest opinions and views.