Repurposed billboard west of Salina, Kansas along I-70 7/13/2014 – 1:40PM, Philip Heying

In the grasslands outside Salina, Kansas, photographer Philip Heying was transfixed by a black and white billboard bearing a raw, public plea: “I need a kidney.” Heying learned that local resident Jim Nelson painted the message in a desperate effort to find a kidney donor for his wife Sharon Plucar after she failed to qualify for a spot on the official transplant list. Plucar passed away three months after Heying took this photograph. The image exposes flaws in the U.S. healthcare system and raises important questions about who can access it. Whether considered through the lens of economics, policy, or human rights, questions about bodily autonomy in healthcare are at the forefront of national conversations, especially as we grapple with new global health crises like Covid-19.

In the grasslands outside Salina, Kansas, photographer Philip Heying was transfixed by a black and white billboard bearing a raw, public plea: “I need a kidney.” Heying learned that local resident Jim Nelson painted the message in a desperate effort to find a kidney donor for his wife Sharon Plucar after she failed to qualify for a spot on the official transplant list. Plucar passed away three months after Heying took this photograph. The image exposes flaws in the U.S. healthcare system and raises important questions about who can access it. Whether considered through the lens of economics, policy, or human rights, questions about bodily autonomy in healthcare are at the forefront of national conversations, especially as we grapple with new global health crises like Covid-19.

Philip Heying’s photographic projects are characterized by ecological responsibility and research-driven investigation. In his series A Visual Archaeology of the Anthropocene, Heying highlights a pattern of connections between human activity and environmental changes. Repurposed billboard presents a view of Kansas grasslands near Salina and a lone billboard at the center of the horizon line. Local citizen Jim Nelson painted the sign in 2013 with the words “I need a kidney” in hopes of finding a kidney donor for his wife Sharon Plucar. Though they received a few leads and many well wishes, Plucar passed away in 2014 after Heying made this photograph. Nelson apparently painted over the billboard a short time later.

Philip Heying’s photographic projects are characterized by ecological responsibility and research-driven investigation. In his series A Visual Archaeology of the Anthropocene, Heying highlights a pattern of connections between human activity and environmental changes. Repurposed billboard presents a view of Kansas grasslands near Salina and a lone billboard at the center of the horizon line. Local citizen Jim Nelson painted the sign in 2013 with the words “I need a kidney” in hopes of finding a kidney donor for his wife Sharon Plucar. Though they received a few leads and many well wishes, Plucar passed away in 2014 after Heying made this photograph. Nelson apparently painted over the billboard a short time later.