Constructing Ascent
Constructing Ascent explores how aerospace engineering is constructed through the interplay of objects, systems, and human interaction, with a particular focus on student-led rocketry and STEM education environments. Developed through work with university groups, outreach programmes, and experimental launch sites, the images document how technical ambition is learned, tested, and realised in practice.
Rather than presenting aerospace technology as a finished or resolved object, the work traces its development from isolated components to operational systems. Early images focus on decontextualised rocket parts, photographed in controlled conditions to emphasise form, materiality, and precision. These are followed by moments of assembly and integration, where electronics, structures, and mechanisms reveal the complexity and imperfection inherent in engineering processes.
As the work progresses, attention moves to infrastructure and environment — the spaces, systems, and people that enable launch activities. Control rooms, testing areas, and open landscapes situate the rockets within broader operational networks, highlighting the often-invisible frameworks that support technological development. The final images capture moments of launch and failure, presenting engineering not as a linear progression toward success, but as an iterative process shaped by experimentation, uncertainty, and risk.
Central to the project is an exploration of how photography shapes the perception of technological authority. By combining controlled studio photography with observational documentary approaches, the work shifts between visual languages to question how engineering is represented and understood. This is supported by a technical investigation into lens performance, examining how clarity, distortion, and rendering influence how objects are perceived.
By focusing on students as active participants, the project highlights the role of education, collaboration, and experimentation in shaping future pathways into STEM careers. It positions aerospace engineering not only as a field of innovation, but as a process of continual learning and collective endeavour.
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