Other Worlds

In every brushstroke, pixel, and chisel mark, artists build not only representations of what is, but propositions of what could be. Other Worlds—Volume 67’s special edition theme—invites readers into the liminal spaces where reality ends and imagination begins, where the veil between worlds is lifted, if only for a moment. In this issue, we celebrate the boundless territories explored by international artists who dare to peer beyond the known: into spiritual realms, celestial landscapes, deep-sea trenches, microcosmic structures, and speculative digital futures.

What does it mean to envision an "other" world? For some, it is a return to ancestral knowledge—worlds shaped by ritual, myth, and spirit. Others render imagined futures through sci-fi-inflected imagery and virtual landscapes, proposing new digital dimensions as spaces for identity, community, or escape. From the unseen forces of the subconscious to ecosystems teeming beyond the scope of the naked eye, the works in this issue confront the limits of perception and stretch the boundaries of representation.

In assembling this volume, we recognized a common thread: the act of world-building is deeply personal, yet simultaneously collective. Many featured artists use their practice to carve out alternative spaces that challenge dominant narratives—whether through feminist reimaginings of ancient cosmologies, queer utopias born in code, or hyper-detailed drawings of invented species populating microscopic terrains. These imagined realities become sanctuaries, battlegrounds, or laboratories—platforms from which to examine the complexities of lived experience through the lens of the fantastical or speculative.

But Other Worlds are not always invented. Several contributors turn to the vast, unknowable realities that already exist around and within us. Underwater photography reveals alien architectures sculpted by coral and tide. Macro-lens explorations of fungi, spores, and neurons evoke the visual languages of astronomy. And in a time of increasing disconnection from the natural world, artists working with environmental data and satellite imagery remind us that Earth itself harbors otherness we’ve yet to fully comprehend.

This special edition is also a celebration of multiplicity—not only of worlds, but of voices. Alongside compelling artwork, readers will find deeply personal artist statements, studio insights, and conversations that reveal the motivations, histories, and practices behind each piece. These interviews are windows into the minds of creators whose processes are as otherworldly as the finished works themselves.

As you turn the pages of Volume 67, we invite you to move slowly, with curiosity. Let your sense of time shift. Consider how the seen and unseen, the real and the imagined, can coexist and inform one another. Ask yourself: What other worlds live within me? What other futures might I help bring into being?

In a moment of global flux, where so many systems feel unsustainable or incomplete, artists offer us not only escape but vision. This issue is a cartography of potential—mapping worlds that challenge, soothe, provoke, and inspire. Through them, we are reminded: another world is not only possible—it is already here, waiting to be seen.