2024: Democracy under pressure—all across Europe.

Public trust in politicians had eroded, and for female politicians, criticism was often more personal than political—targeting appearance, age, and identity.

Faced with this climate of cynicism and hostility, the election campaign for Free Democrat Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann set out to tackle the challenge head on: how could a politician be truly seen and heard in an age of distrust?

Instead of retouching, smoothing, or softening her image, the campaign leaned into radical transparency. In stark black and white, it turned age and authenticity into strengths—highlighting her white hair and experience with 11,722 raw, documentary-style photos. Provocative. Unfiltered. Unapologetically real.