Stephen Cornford

Stephen Cornford is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Southampton and Programme Lead for MA Fine Art. As founding co-director of the Critical Infrastructures and Image Politics research group, his work critically examines technology's environmental impacts through media art and theoretical inquiry.

His research centers on "spectral geotechnics," analyzing interdependencies between technological systems and planetary environments via the electromagnetic spectrum. He challenges extractive logics in digital technology production and earth observation practices, emphasizing ecological consequences of consumer electronics and scientific sensing infrastructures.

Recent publications (2022-2025) explore materiality of digital media, resource extraction geopolitics, and planetary-scale ecological costs. His creative outputs manifest as media artefacts translating abstract environmental processes into tangible forms, bridging artistic practice with scientific critique.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Earth Art Fellowship at Bristol University

Cornford supervises PhD candidates Rui Cai, John Sydney Umney, and Max Dovey in Fine Art. His research receives support through Horizon EU's GREENPEG project and institutional fellowships, fostering art-science collaborations addressing ecological collapse.

He co-founded the Critical Infrastructures and Image Politics group, driving interdisciplinary investigations into digital infrastructure's political ecology and visual culture's role in environmental discourse.