Liminal Space

Liminal Space aesthetics revolve around pictures of transitional areas devoid of life, such as malls in the early morning, empty parking lots or a school hallway during summer. Liminal imagery is often defined by the absence of people, a frozen and unsettling appearance and a vague sense of familiarity, which is achieved through the use of elements such as late 20^th and early 21^st century architecture and furniture, linoleum floors, ceiling tiles and cool-toned fluorescent lighting. Despite its initial focus on the photography of vacant spaces, the aesthetic evolved to adapt to a multitude of settings and media formats.

History[]

Possibly the best-known and earliest example of the liminal space as an Internet sub-culture is The Backrooms; an internet urban legend originating from a 4chan post by SomethingAwful user Black August in 2019, described as "what you see when you no-clip out of reality". An entire community has since formed around the concept, creating numerous adaptations over the years. In videos on YouTube discussing liminal spaces, The Backrooms are a popular point of reference to use when describing the aesthetic as a whole.

Despite The Backrooms being one of the better-known examples of liminal space media, the film The Shining (1980) and its depiction of an empty and sprawling hotel has been identified as one of the main inspirations for a lot of modern-day media pertaining to liminal spaces.

Concept[]

True to its etymology ("liminal" being derived from the Latin word limen, meaning "threshold"), liminal spaces are locations that, due to their function, are transitional in nature, such as hallways, waiting rooms, parking lots, or highway rest stops. Liminal space aesthetics arise from the feelings of eeriness, nostalgia, and apprehension people describe when presented with such places outside of their designed context; most notably, their function as intermediary points between origin and destination. For instance, empty stairwells or hospital corridors at night are often considered foreboding and creepy because these places are usually brimming with life, and the absence of people creates an otherworldly and forlorn atmosphere.

While this definition is the closest to the academic meaning of liminality, the aesthetic changed over time to include images of spaces devoid of human presence that are simply nostalgic, dreamlike, or uncanny, even when such places aren't considered liminal per se (e.g., Poolcore). This expanded scope also gave the phenomenon a wider appeal among young adults and their adjacent demographics, who connected the mysterious allure of liminal spaces with their own infancy and cultural memory. This is usually achieved through the photography of locations such as roadside attractions, playgrounds, vacant houses, or abandoned malls, but also visual elements such as poor lighting, compression effects, camera noise, and old-fashioned decor reminiscent of the 90s and early 2000s . Due to their nostalgic appeal and dreamlike atmosphere, leading many to reflect on the passage of time and yearn for times of innocence and optimism—values often associated with childhood and coming-of-age periods—liminal spaces are also strongly linked with Traumacore, Hauntology, Dreamcore, and other similar aesthetics.

Liminal space aesthetics also have a significant overlap with those of After Hours, since both explore the atmosphere of vacant spaces that are, by nature, easier to find during nighttime . But while the After Hours aesthetic plays with feelings of peacefulness and tranquility, Liminal Space's appeal comes from their unsettling atmosphere. After Hours aesthetics are also generally more grounded in reality, as opposed to the common dreamlike vibe found in Liminal Spaces.

Liminal spaces are also quite subjective. Their relatedness is highly dependent on the lived experiences of the target audience, which varies between generations, cultures, social classes and countries. Essentially, what appears nostalgic to one person may be more unsettling to another, while some may find the same image bland with no emotions attached to it. There is even debate as to whether it should be considered an aesthetic, given how much it can rely on cultural elements, architecture and decoration styles that vary from place to place.

Visuals[]

Liminal space aesthetics consists of any room, corridor, or hallway that is big and empty, yet carries an eerie and unsettling vibe with it; this part is key in separating the Liminal Space aesthetic from just a regular photo of an empty room, corridor or hallway. This disconcerting effect can also be achieved with simple lighting tricks, nonsensical architecture, misplaced elements, moody lightning or photo editing (Vaporwave, Psychedelic, and Glitch edits, in particular, can assist in this effect, although applying too much of these can sometimes ruin the liminality of the image).

Some edits of liminal spaces can give the effect of being in a retro horror or RPG video game (as popularized by YouTuber/Instagrammer YOURLOCALBREADMAN) which can tap into either the uncomfortable, the surreal, or could just go full-on Lovecraftian with some of the design choices made in these style of video edits. Empty game servers and maps have also been described as liminal, especially those presenting older and more rudimentary graphics such as No Players Online and early Call of Duty instalments, but also Source engine games like GMod and Team Fortress.