Lars Tunbjörk is accustomed to seeking out the absurd. And on his first assignment covering U.S. politics, the Swedish photographer, best known for capturing the subtle humor in his native country’s suburban landscapes, didn’t need to look too hard. The frenzy of candidates, crowds and media that accompanied the Republican caucuses earlier this week in Iowa gave Tunbjörk absurdity by the ballotbox-full. This series of revealing and often humorous photos, commissioned to illustrate TIME‘s political coverage in the magazine and online, is a remarkable snapshot of American democracy in action. Tunbjörk often arrived early to watch campaign workers set up and stayed long after the the spectacle ended to capture them breaking down the stages. “The people of Iowa work hard during the process and take it very seriously,” the photographer says.
With a fresh eye, strong flash and unusual compositions, Tunbjörk captured the personality-driven candidacy of Rick Santorum as he prayed before a plate of nachos in Johnston, Iowa, and discovered Mitt Romney’s robotic rhetorical repetition on the trail in Clive and West Des Moines. Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann were also photographed, and Tunbjörk shows the full spectrum of the long days both the candidates and Iowans endure, waiting at events and standing out in the cold during the sometimes grueling caucus process. Under the Iowa big-top, the marvels never cease. “Sweden is such a quiet country,” Tunbjörk says. “And this process is such a circus.”
Lars Tunbjörk is a Stockholm-based photographer and represented by Agence Vu in Paris and by the Gun Gallery in Sweden and Paul Amador Gallery in New York. He is the author of Vinter (Steidl, 2007) and his next book, L.A. Office (MACK) will be out this spring.
Adam Sorensen is an associate editor at TIME. Follow him on Twitter at @adamsorensen.
Young Romney supporters swarm to meet him for autographs at a campaign stop in Clive, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEMitt Romney greets crowds of campaign supporters at Competitive Edge in Clive, Iowa the day before the caucus on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEDan Lindsay and his 10-year-old son Tyler at a Romney event at the Hy-Vee parking lot in West Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011. Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEMitt Romney supporters Marcella Yochum and her son Scott Yochum gather at a campaign event in West Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEJohn Strong, a U.S. veteran and Mitt Romney supporter, holds an anti-Obama sign at a campaign event at the Hy-Vee in West Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011. Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEMitt Romney poses for photos with a young supporter at a campaign event at the Hy-Vee parking lot in West Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEMitt Romney supporters break down the set after a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEThe remains of a Romney event in Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERomney meets with voters to discuss jobs and the economy at the Family Table Restaurant in Atlantic, Iowa on January 1, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEMitt Romney supporter Becky Nicoli at a campaign event at Hy-Vee supermarket in Des Moines, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEA winter landscape outside of Boone, Iowa on December 31, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERick Santorum prays before a meal of nachos at the Okoboji Grill while he campaigns in Johnston, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERick Santorum tries on a sweater vest while campaigning at Buffalo Wild Wings in Ames, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEA woman watches Rick Santorum on a closed curcuit TV during a campaign event at Legends American Grill in Marshalltown, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEThe press questions Rick Santorum as he campaigns at Buffalo Wild Wings in Ames, Iowa on December 30, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERick Santorum at the Smokey Row Coffeehouse for a meet and greet in Oskaloosa, Iowa on December 31, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEA flag flies over the landscape of Walford, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEMitt Romney and his wife Ann host a a grassroots campaign rally at Bayliss Park Hall in Council Bluffs, Iowa on January 1, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEA Ron Paul supporter jumps up and down to keep warm and attract attendees to a campaign event in Cedar Falls, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERon Paul waits to speak at a campaign event in Cedar Falls, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERand Paul (center) listens to his father Ron Paul at a campaign event in Cedar Falls, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEPeople begin to gather for a Town Hall Meeting with Newt Gingrich at a campaign stop in Walford, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEEllis the Elephant and Newt Gingrich campaign in Walford, Iowa on January 2, 2012.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMEWilliam Temple, a Revolutionary War reenactor, who has become an unofficial tea party mascot, greets Michele Bachmann at a campaign stop called 'Rock the Caucus,' at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa on January 3, 2012. Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERick Perry campaigns at The Gigglin' Goat in Boone, IA on December 31, 2011.Lars Tunbjörk for TIMERepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann are greeted with a gift from a supporter at his Iowa Caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, January 3, 2012. Lars Tunbjörk for TIME
