Artist Katherine Hubbard documents her mother's dementia through Polaroid series
Over five years, Hubbard photographed her mother Antonette Berger in her Germantown apartment as her memory declined due to LATE.
In Brief
- •Over five years, Hubbard photographed her mother Antonette Berger in her Germantown apartment as her memory declined due to LATE.
- •The resulting series, The Great Room, was published as a book titled One Fifty One, named after the building’s street number.
- •The photographs are part of Hubbard’s solo exhibition at Studio Voltaire in London.
- •Hubbard used two vintage Polaroid cameras and staged scenes with mirrors and other objects to capture moments of levity amid the decline.
- •The project highlights the emotional complexity of caregiving and the role of photography in documenting dementia.
Why It Matters
Katherine Hubbard’s work offers a rare, intimate visual record of living with dementia, illustrating how art can capture the subtle, often invisible, effects of neurodegenerative disease. By photographing her mother’s daily life in a familiar setting, Hubbard brings attention to the personal and emotional dimensions of caregiving, encouraging broader public empathy and discussion around conditions like LATE that are less understood than Alzheimer’s. The exhibition at Studio Voltaire situates these images within a contemporary art context, inviting viewers to confront the fragility of memory and identity. It also demonstrates how everyday objects—Polaroid cameras, mirrors, and the architecture of a long‑used apartment—can become powerful tools for storytelling and memory preservation.
Key Details
- Series Title
- The Great Room
- Book Title
- One Fifty One
- Location of Exhibition
- Studio Voltaire, London
- Condition Diagnosed
- LATE (limbic‑predominant age‑related TDP‑43 encephalopathy)
- Duration of Project
- 5 years
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