Robin de Puy has photographed Jeffrey several times at the campervan where he lives with his mother, stepfather and 14 yapping dogs. She first photographed him when he was 16, and now she’s returned to his home in Nevada to put him on a billboard.
“A couple of months ago I had the thought of displaying the people I photographed on billboards. The subjects of my photos are dear to me, and in my eyes individuals who need to be seen.
In the past few days, I drove along The Loneliest Road in America with my dear (camera) man Maarten, Randy (who doesn’t know him), and Jeffrey (the icon in the picture) to see the billboards of AMERICAN people. Although Jeffrey’s first thought was cutting down the trees in front of his billboard - I understand you, Jeff - he was smiling constantly. ‘Something I’ll talk about for years!’
The road trip was so special, so sweet, so everything. A friendship developed between Jeffrey and Randy, we played pool, lay in the soft sand of the sand dunes, drank liquid marijuana’s, laughed and cried.
After a few days, the trip ended, and even though it was so incredibly wonderful, my heart ached - as usual - at departure. It makes me sad that I can’t be in two places at once. Being here is a part of who I am. I am here with family, as Randy always says. Sometimes I joke that I have created my own (other) family through my photography, but it truly feels that way. Leaving them feels difficult and lonely. It’s something I still struggle with after so many years. BUT, now there is at least the memory of being together on The Loneliest Road in America.”
Robin’s series AMERICAN brings together film, photography, audio and now billboards, to ask, “What are the thoughts, concerns and dreams of the largely unheard people of America? See the entire project here.