The Winter Garden photograph project, created by Odette England, marked the 40th anniversary of the book Camera Lucida in 2020.

It comprised two parts. The first was a 320-page edited volume of photographs and texts titled Keeper of the Hearth: Picturing Roland Barthes’ Unseen Photograph. The second involved a five-month exhibition of these photographs at the Houston Center for Photography.

Camera Lucida (La chambre claire), written by French literary theorist Roland Barthes, is arguably one of the most influential books about photography. Published in 1980, shortly before his death, the book is also a tribute to Barthes’ late mother, Henriette. In it, Barthes describes a treasured snapshot taken in 1898 of Henriette, aged five. This snapshot is known as the Winter Garden photograph. Barthes discusses it at length in Camera Lucida, but never reproduces it. It is one of the most famous unseen photographs in the world.

Odette England invited more than 200 photography-based artists, writers, critics, curators, and historians worldwide to contribute an image and/or text that reflects Barthes’ unpublished snapshot of his mother.

Keeper of the Hearth was named a 2020 Photobook of the Year by LensCulture, American Suburb X, The Luupe, What Will You Remember, and Lenscratch.

EVENTS

The first Keeper of the Hearth exhibition opened at the Houston Center for Photography in September 2020. A virtual opening reception was moderated by Odette England and featured David Campany, Jess T. Dugan, Kris Graves, and Sarah Meister as panelists. Watch it here
Pictures We Keep, Secrets We Share: an online discussion hosted by Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design. Moderated by Dalia Habib Linssen of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and featuring panelists Barbara Bosworth, Binh Danh, Eric Gottesman, Dana Mueller, and Odette England. Thursday, October 8. Watch it here
Surfaces for Feelings: an online discussion moderated by Barbara Levine and featuring panelists Alejandro Cartagena, Laurel Nakadate, Ka-Man Tse, and Odette England. Hosted by the Houston Center for Photography. Wednesday, October 28. Watch it here
What Are You Collecting?: an online performance by Odette England at the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College. Thursday, November 12, 2020. Watch it here
Keeper of the Hearth: an online panel discussion featuring Birthe Piontek, Dru Donovan, Eirik Johnson, Meghann Riepenhoff, and Rafael Soldi. Hosted by Photographic Center Northwest. Saturday, November 14, 2020. Watch it here
Odette England also presented Keeper of the Hearth during a LIVE-stream photo book salon for 10x10 Photobooks (May 12) at RISD’s Fleet Library (March 12) and the 2020 Society for Photographic Educators 57th Annual Conference (March 5).

FEATURES + REVIEWS + PODCASTS
The Guardian newspaper (April 15, 2020)
The Guardian online
Financial Times (June 26, 2020) Lensculture The British Journal of Photography (Feb 2020) History of Photography (Taylor + Francis) Collector Daily The Nearest Truth
Humble Arts Foundation
Lenscratch
Conscientious Photography Magazine
Juxtapoz The Eye of Photography
Fraction magazine El Pais - Spanish and English
Leica Fotografie International (Book of the Month) EIKON
What Will You Remember?
De Standaard newspaper (April 17, 2020 - in Dutch)
De Groene Amsterdammer (June 10, 2020 - in Dutch)
Photolucida
F-Stop magazine
GUP magazine Don't Take Pictures Synapsis Journal
Bird in Flight - in Russian
Royal Photographic Society Journal Pledge Times