[Carte Blanche Students] Discover the 20 finalists of the Carte Blanche Students 2022 ! Chief designer "I began work on this project in 2021, before the February 24th invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Chief Designer (2021-2022) explores Space Race era archives including National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents and secret Soviet photographs of their Chief Designer. This research on space travel led me to the complex history of Ukrainian astronautical engineer, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, who headed up the Soviet space programme in the 1950s and 1960s. False accusations from fellow rocket designers to led to doubts about his loyalty to the regime, meant that he was incarcerated at Kolyma labour camp for six years, on charges of being an anti-Soviet counter revolutionary. However, his strategic value to the Soviet government in the Space Race led to his rehabilitation: Koroylov oversaw the design, construction and deployment of Soviet rockets, including the R-7 Semyorka, the world’s first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the development of the Sputnik satellite programme and all manned spaceflights. His Ukrainian identity was consistently obscured, and he was known by the anonymous appellation, ‘Chief Designer.’ His full identity was revealed only after his death in 1966. A mysterious figure, Koroylov has been treated extensively in other forms of representation outside of photography, such as literary fiction and film. I have traced Koroylov’s life through open-source images and Soviet-era visual propaganda, incorporating nineteenth century photographic processes in order to produce an alternative, visual biography. Image from the series "Chief designer" by LUKE RYAN @lukeryanphotos Link in bio to discover the projects of the 20 finalists! - In partnership with @gares_connexions & @pictofr #parisphotofair #carteblanchestudents #carteblanche2021 #emergingphotography