Photo of Michael Salu © Camille Blake


Transdisciplinary artist | Author | Editor | Creative Director + Strategist

I’m a multimedia artist interested in the stories often neglected by official records and official knowledge acquisition and development. I am particularly interested in diaspora, the dynamic fusion of cultural knowledge, political agency and creative expression that is difficult to quantify. Literature is central to my research and practice, and I work across several artistic forms, which, over time, have become vital to my speculative explorations and are crucial for illuminating the porous boundaries between dimensions of knowledge and culture.

I have conducted extensive research into the impact of technology on culture for over a decade and have produced creative and critical work with machine learning ("AI") since 2019, in addition to writing numerous essays and stories that explore this symbiosis.

I began as a designer, then creative director and art editor. The first part of my career helped establish an inquisitive, research-based artistic approach, laying the foundation for my broad skill set and propensity for continuous skill development and multimedia experimentation, which led me to film, animation, interactive digital media, game engine design, and more.

My writing started during my time working in publishing, where I established a unique intersection between literature, design, and contemporary art, which informs my work today.

I write, create multimedia art, give talks and performances, make films and more. All my work is one constantly shifting, changing, and overlapping kinetic project of learning and questioning. Today, much of my work is grounded in in-depth research, exploring ways to integrate creative prose with academic study to examine the under-explored space between postcolonial emancipatory thought and planetary computational theory.

I founded House of Thought, a creative research practice and consultancy that bridges critical ideas and technology. Through this work, I collaborate with academic partners and advise organisations on cultural innovation. Vestibule, the sibling organisation, is more focused on creative strategy, direction and design.

Currently, I'm finishing a new book. This is a novel that looks at gaming, the way mental illness is stigmatised and very often just ignored by society, and the active role Christianity still plays in the patriarchal structure of our so-called secular world.

My design work spans a range of projects, from small to larger, more complex systems and strategies, utilising my research experience to support new approaches and the integration of emerging technologies in my solutions, both independently and in collaboration.

Check out the links below to see more of my work.

Recognition & Features
Across two decades, my work in art, design, literature, and critical research practice has been widely featured in a variety of publications, platforms and organisations, and I’ve been profiled on several occasions for different areas of my transdisciplinary creative practice. I have won design awards, including D&AD, and been shortlisted for literary prizes.

Selected Publications & Media
My essays on digital culture and AI have appeared widely, and I have been a contributor to several publications, including Paris Review, Lithub, Cleveland Review of Books, WritersMosaic, Sleepingfish, Granta and E-Flux.

Selected Speaking & Presentations
I have given numerous talks over the years at various academic and cultural institutions. Examples include:
  • Keynote: “Language: Violence and Repair” - Central Saint Martins Digital Innovation Season, London 2025
  • Artist Talk: “I am in your dreams, but you are not in mine: Hallucinations of Empire and the AI Archive”, Planetary Portals @ The Photographers' Gallery, London 2025
  • Guest speaker: Royal College of Art, Central Saint Martins - Book Launch for ‘The Red Earth Project
  • Keynote: “Computational Translation Between Western and Non-Western Ontology” - Princeton University, 2023.
  • “Conception and Perception” The Hyper-mythology of Today’s Images - Initiative of Narrative Journalism, Amsterdam 2017
Exhibitions & Screenings include:
  • The Red Earth Project: Studio Hannibal, Berlin (2022)
  • Film premiere: “D.A.O.C” Transmediale (2023)
  • “I am in your dreams, but you are not in mine”: The Photographers Gallery, London (2025)

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Photo © Camille Blake
Explore more work

House of Thought

House of Thought is an experimental creative research practice and consultancy that aims to bridge critical ideas and new technologies.

The Red Earth Project

Started in 2019, The Red Earth Project is an ongoing artistic and interdisciplinary study, drawing attention to the precarity of non-Western cultural heritage, knowledge systems and practices in Western systems of data, virtual architectures and AI technologies.

D.A.O.C. Film

Responding to imperial archives with game engine software. A film by Michael Salu, made with Unity.

SALUFILMS

Salufilms is driven by storytelling and exploratory ideas, living with and beyond the cinema space. We aim to celebrate and challenge the grammar of film, prioritising poetics and innovation.

Vestibule

Vestibule is a strategic creative agency where design and poetry meet insight. Full site imminent!
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