Invited artist:Sarah Edmands Martin

My piece of wonder is a response to Vilém Flusser’s Vampyroteuthis Infernalis. Blurring the boundaries between science, art, and existential inquiry, Flusser’s text imagines the life of the deep-sea creature “Vampyroteuthis infernalis” (the “vampire squid from hell”). By exploring the creature’s anatomy, behavior, and environment we can begin to imagine alternative modes of being, contrasting our own human, terrestrial experience with the alien, and existence of the squid. As recently as 2022, UNESCO reported only 5% of the ocean having been explored and charted by humans. My wonder is a response to this anthropomorphic mirror—one that reects both our human nature and the limits of our worldview.

 

 I also invoke Immanuel Kant (specifically his Critique of Judgment) who examines the sublime as an aesthetic experience arising from encountering something vast, overwhelming, and beyond human comprehension—such as the depths of the ocean or the infinite expanse of the cosmos. I connect Kant and Flusser through the magic device of a child’s illusion toy: the thaumatrope. By spinning a disk (12” x 12”) with different images on each side, a thaumatrope creates the illusion of a single, combined image due to the persistence of vision. My piece thus becomes a continuation of vision, from Kant to Flusser, that transforms a peculiar deep-sea inhabitant into a profound symbol of life's diversity and the interconnectedness of existence.

 

Sarah Edmands Martin is Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Design at the University of Notre Dame where her design practice, media-making, and scholarship unfold at the intersections of speculative design, visual communication design, digital storytelling, and media aesthetics. Prior to her current position, she was the faculty coordinator of Indiana University’s Graphic Design program in the School of Art, Architecture + Design (2018-2022). She has received fellowships that include a 2024 Fulbright, a 2023 Design Writing Fellowship at Chicago's Writing Space, and a 2021–22 Research Fellowship at the Institute for Digital Arts + Humanities. She has also published essays in books and journals such as Counter Text, Ethics in Design and Communication: New Critical Perspectives, Digital Transformation in Design: Processes and Practices, and AIGA’s Eye on Design. Her current collaborative book projects include Beautiful Bureaucracy: A Design Brief for Civic Life (MIT Press, 2025) and Otherworldly Games: An Atlas of Playable Realities. Her design work has been recognized and published by PRINT, Graphis, the Paris Design Awards, London International Creative, and the Creative Communication Awards. Her industry-facing work spans clients from Citibank to AMC’s The Walking Dead.