What’s it about?
Where the project is now
Lightkeep Project
LightKeep is a portrait and oral-history project documenting older residents of Rottingdean, Saltdean and Ovingdean — the people whose lives quietly hold the area’s social and cultural memory.
Each subject is photographed in a stripped-back black-and-white portrait, and recorded in a companion filmed interview — a short, documentary-style “moving-image portrait” built from a seated conversation and, where possible, the person’s own photographs and memorabilia.
The purpose is simple: to record first-hand stories while they’re still here to be told.
Once they’re gone, those voices and details are gone with them.
LightKeep began as a private portrait practice — one person, one lens, no noise — and it has already produced a number of completed portrait + film pairings (examples on this page).
What happens next
In 2026 I’m developing LightKeep into a public-facing, community archive: a curated series of portrait/film pairings, a short exhibition in the local area, and a growing online archive that can be accessed by residents, families, schools and anyone interested in local history.
To do that properly — with wider participation, accessibility (captions/transcripts), careful permissions, and long-term archiving — the project is now preparing an application to Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants. More details will be shared here as the project expands.
Get involved
If you live in (or have strong ties to) Rottingdean, Saltdean or Ovingdean — or you know someone whose story should be recorded — I’d love to hear from you.
“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.”
— Edward Steichen
