Lewis Bush (GB)

The exhibition An Infinitely Dark Legacy is based on Lewis Bush’s photographic project and book Depravity’s Rainbow (2018-2023), which investigates the dark origins of modern rocketry during WWII and the Holocaust. The exhibition highlights how this overlooked history influences contemporary space exploration. Bush’s work critically examines the links between technological power, state interests, and ethical concerns, reflecting his long-term focus on revealing hidden dimensions of institutional and technological influence. The project centers on Wernher von Braun, a German-American rocket scientist involved in Nazi missile development using slave labor, yet later advocating for space exploration and contributing to the Apollo moon landing. Bush questions the moral implications of a scientific field rooted in such dark beginnings, emphasizing that space science’s moral direction depends entirely on human choices. The exhibition challenges viewers to consider the ethical consequences of scientific progress built on morally questionable foundations.

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Lewis Bush studied history at the University of Warwick, worked for the World Health Organisation, and in the media, and then studied documentary photography at the University of the Arts London, where he is now Senior Lecturer in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.