A Dumpster Haiku

Jerry Pfeill was homeless and living in an encampment near a river in Milwaukee — making money by dumpster diving for aluminum cans — when he met the artist Charles Dwyer. They forged a relationship when Jerry started making art — inspired by a book of Haikus they found in a dumpster — under the guidance of Charles.

I photographed Jerry and Charles as they worked together. The writer Charles Nevsimal captured a slice of their story in what became a three-part series for Wisconsin People and Ideas. A Dumpster Haiku brings together that story, my photographs, and Jerry’s artwork, culminating in a unique and touching portrait of an unlikely artist