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I recently saw the article on Bored Panda about liminal spaces and it is something that has been a personal interest for me as well for a long time. Looking at some of the photographs, I do think I sought after the feeling of liminality in them.

The feeling of being in a transition phase, passing from one space to another, whether it be the uncertain state of an abandoned building, which once housed life and now waits for either demolition or refurbishment or the lands beyond massive fells or the depths of whispering forests as if passing over an invisible threshold of the horizon or a boundary within the depth of a forest would take the journeyer to a new world or realm. In psychology, there is a term called "event boundary," which the brain uses to encode information into segments for easier organization and access.

More info: Instagram | fellscapes.com

A classical example of an event boundary is passing through a doorway, whereupon the person oftentimes forgets what was the reason for entering through a doorway. For the mind, the passing over of this boundary creates a definition between what was and what is now. Liminality is also a term that is associated with rites of passage, where the participator no longer holds the pre-ritual status, but the post-ritual status is yet to be achieved.

Liminality is a state of fluidity, where old orders and meanings of things no longer hold true, and the orders and meanings are yet to be established and are a space where these can be created. Maybe the intrigue of the liminal spaces, the exhilarating yet also terrifying, could be explained by the event boundaries.

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Maybe the images hold elements, like a building with an uncertain fate, or what lies beyond the horizon of the forest, are thresholds for the brain to compile information and ready to assess what is coming next. Looking at these images that seem to display liminal spaces stuck in this state where the journey to new information has just begun but has not yet reached wherever they would lead leaves the brain in a state of constant wondering. This is just my interpretation and not saying it's an actual scientific consensus!

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#16

My Contribution To The "Liminal Spaces" Article

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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most times I don't alter anything before taking a photo, but here I was with a friend and we found this pair of shoes and thought it would create a compelling photo with them left on the stairs, to be kinda this extra touch of the human element in the scene

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PattyK
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This doesn’t look “liminal” to me; just going from poverty to more poverty.

Cécile V.
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3 years ago

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My Contribution To The "Liminal Spaces" Article

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