Liminal minds

Abstract

The concept of liminality was first introduced by Arnold van Gennep in Rites de Passage in 1909. There, he observed the rites of passage or transformative rituals of social life (such as weddings, funerals, initiation rites, etc.). Liminality was described as the psychic and emotional state in-between one social status and another, in a state of ambiguity, disorientation and loss of fixed identity.

In my research, I adopt the concept of liminality not in the classical anthropological sense but rather in a personal sense. I am interested in personal journeys, often secret transitions and transgressions, usually accompanied by dreams and visions placing persons outside of the society, alienating and excluding them. Yet, I believe liminality to be the state of creativity and I am interested in its transformative potential.