Our Fragile Space in the Centre of Coventry

Hear the story from the Habitability GRP

From May 6-21, Coventry Cathedral hosted Max Alexander’s latest exhibition, Our Fragile Space: Protecting the Near-Space Environment. Held in the evocative environment of the Cathedral Ruins, this first public showing of the exhibition was sponsored by the University of Warwick and represents the culmination of a 3-year partnership between the Habitability Global Research Priority (GRP) and photographer and science communicator, Max Alexander.  

The exhibition aimed to raise public awareness of the global issue of space debris, which continues to accumulate in the near-space environment and is just as significant a threat as plastics are to our oceans. Our Fragile Space connects directly with ongoing research at Warwick’s Centre for Space Domain Awareness (CSDA), which addresses the problems posed by space debris and is developing ways of tracking it.   

Through its use of landscape, portraiture, and close-up photography, Our Fragile Space illustrates the cost of space debris and its impact on the near space environment. The narrative of this damage and of the central figures working to minimise its effects was told across five multi-panel stands. The exhibition ended with a large triptych (a three-panel image where space debris was added into an image of the Greenwich skyline), which offered a final thought-provoking commentary on the debris crowding our skies, posing the question: what do we really see when we look up? 

On May 9, a special launch evening of Our Fragile Space brought together researchers from across the Midlands, along with project partners and collaborators, including the Warwick Institute of Engagement and the Industry Stakeholder Forum. The evening offered attendees a first look at Max’s stunning photographs in the surroundings of the Cathedral Ruins, and a mini exhibition of satellites and their components shared by William Crofts, director of Warwick’s Satellite Engineering Programme (WUSAT), making tangible the connection between the photography and space debris.  

During the exhibition’s two-week run, approximately 8,000 people visited the Ruins with around 2,500 taking the time to view the exhibition in its entirety. PhD students from the Department of Physics at Warwick University answered questions on current research on the issue of space debris, as well as distributing educational materials created especially for children, creating an enjoyable and enriching experience for visitors of all ages. 

You can find out more about the exhibition on the Our Fragile Space mini-site, where there is information on the project and its connections to research at Warwick as well as free educational resources and further reading on the topic of space debris. 

The Habitability GRP would like to thank to thank all those at Coventry Cathedral, staff and students from the University of Warwick, our collaborators at Resonate, and family and friends who have supported the project.