Lewis Bush
An Infinitely Dark Legacy

International
Centre for
the Image

Lewis Bush
An Infinitely Dark Legacy

PhotoIreland presents the Irish premiere of An Infinitely Dark Legacy by artist Lewis Bush at the International Centre for the Image.

The exhibition An Infinitely Dark Legacy is based on Lewis Bush’s photographic project and book Depravity’s Rainbow (2018-2023). The work examines the dark origins of modern rocketry during the Second World War and Holocaust, and charts the ways that this history continued to influence Cold War era space programs in the United States, projects on which much present day space exploration is in turn founded. Through these ideas, it examines the moral vacuum at the heart of contemporary space travel.

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 centres on Wernher von Braun, a German-American rocket scientist involved in Nazi missile development using slave labour, 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, emphasising 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.

Lewis Bush is a photographer and researcher. His long-term projects examine different forms of contemporary power, from opaque technological systems to offshore financial structures. Collectively, these projects constitute a growing archive of power which seeks to address power’s invisibility. His books and prints are held widely in public and private collections worldwide, including museums, national libraries, and research institutions.

An Infinitely Dark Legacy is presented alongside Rhiannon Adam’s Rhi-Entry at the International Centre for the Image, Dublin.

For any inquiries about PhotoIreland and the International Centre for the Image, please write to office@image.museum