In 2010, I founded the Chamomile Tea Party as an umbrella for creating imagery about the sorry state of American political discourse. At that time, a lack of legislative bipartisanship was delaying important legislation, putting many Americans at risk. Since then, the divide has widened exponentially. Cultural wedge issues have become more important than substantive legislation that reduces social and racial injustice, domestic terrorism, income inequality, and climate change. We won’t accomplish anything if party comes before country, and our leaders’ personal aspirations drive their votes. We have reached a critical point in our history. These images document the disintegration of what we once thought of as American Exceptionalism. We’re living on a precipice.

As I walked home from my day job just before the Fourth of July weekend in 2010, I listened to a story on National Public Radio about Elena Hagen’s confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. The reporter said that the vote would follow party lines. That was the moment I realized partisanship had gone too far. It seems naïve now, given the significant deterioration in governance that has occurred in the years since. But back then, my backgrounds in political science and design suddenly merged with our legislative realities, and the Chamomile Tea Party was born. During that holiday weekend, I created the first four images of what has now become an archive of over 300: a visual history of contemporary American politics.