liminal space

Ramp

Narrow driveway between buildings lined with white walls and greenery in the background. — Hove, UK

Pedantically, this ramp out of a car park, between two blocks of flats, is liminal – it is a space that is the boundary between purposeful places, between the car park and the street, between one block of flats where people live and another, a space no one needs to be except to transit from one place to another. However, as a picture, I’m not sure it conveys that sense of the liminal very well, nor is it a particularly interesting image on its own, without that context. Another reject from my mad dash to enter a contest for liminal space photographs.

Temporarily Liminal

Construction site entrance with a closed gate and signage indicating 'Road Closed' and 'No Road Markings', along with a diversion sign. — Conway and Goldstone Streets, Hove

Another reject from my hurried search for a photo of the liminal for a contest. This hardly qualifies as liminal, but in the road’s inaccessibility, it does constitute a kind of no man’s land between the bus depot being remodelled on the right and the industrial estate on the left.

Liminal

An empty industrial area featuring a concrete floor, a metal wall, and a red post box, surrounded by green foliage and a brick wall. — Conway St, Hove

A friend sent me notice of a contest to take a new photo of a liminal space. With only a day or so left, I dashed out to see what I could find. I seldom get good pictures under these sorts of circumstances and this was no exception. Here is one of my rejects – more over the next few days.

Stairs

Having started curating the hundreds of liminal spaces I’ve photographed for the project Neither Here nor There, I can’t help noticing these null zones everywhere I go. The first two pictures are of he same staircase and bridge, the third is a spot nearer to our hotel. Looks like AI is even getting in on bridges now (see below).

Liminal Spaces

In the last post, I discussed liminal spaces, a subject that we have been discussing in my Photography MFA class. Imagine my delight in finding the Limin restaurant! (Click either image below to see them both enlarged – you may have to click the post title first if you’re seeing this in an email).

Heterotopia?

I’ve often posted here before on weird, open spaces, often called liminal spaces, that are neither here nor there, in between, on the threshold of elsewhere. A related concept is Foucault’s heterotopia, which I’ve also explored in earlier posts. Here, a look at a concrete terrace outside the Hayward Gallery cafeteria, separating it from the Waterloo Bridge. Get ready – more are coming.