Progress shots of “Liminality” oil paint on canvas, 24”x48”.
Liminality is the idea of being between states or changes. Y’all know about Liminal spaces, but the term originated in Anthropology, talking about tribal ‘coming of age’ ceremonies. When a child begins the ceremony, they are no longer a child, but they haven’t finished yet, so they’re not an adult either, they’re in a stage of Liminality.
In Buddhism, there’s this thing called Bardo, and it’s taken on a few different meanings depending on context, but I learned about it as the moment between two instantaneous moments. When you’re making a decision, it’s the moment between deciding, and accepting. It can be the moment between life and death, or awake and asleep. It is an infinitely brief moment, and in that infinitely brief instant, there are infinitely more brief instances.
This painting can be about those ideas in general, but more specifically about understanding or accepting being trans or fluid, and the moments of Liminality and Bardo associated with that journey, wherever it might take you, or wherever you might start it.