Jeffrey Robins is a storyteller. He creates narratives which explore the emotional, cultural, and spiritual undertones of contemporary life. Using sequences of images layered with meaning and text he explores the nuances of the human condition.
Robins’ subtle metaphors are often created through careful investigation of the subject’s surroundings; preferring sincerity over idealism in his work. His practice is rooted in the empathetic investigations of Alec Soth, the prose portraits of Duane Michals, and the self-referential portrayals of America by Robert Frank and Lee Friedlander.
Born and raised in Southern California, he is a graduate of University of California San Diego and presently resides in Long Beach, CA.
I Thought I Saw the Light
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
– Leonard Cohen from Anthem
I Thought I Saw the Light is a meandering exploration through “God’s country” from Pray, MT to the pious town of St. Ignacious. Embarking on a road trip in the tradition of photo documentarians before him Robins’ pays homage to the history of the medium while also referencing the self-awareness of the Millennial experience. Perspectives oscillate playfully between the carefully considered and spontaneously reflexive; the viewer and photographer are often grounded in the scene itself, much the same way Robert Frank had done decades ago.
Persistent themes echo throughout I Thought I Saw the Light, scrutinizing life, death, legacy, and God in a reflective and often revelatory fashion. Dark tableaus give way to light while man contends with nature and Christian symbols emerge from the landscape on the road that never ends.
To view more of Jeffrey Robins’s work please visit his website.