Recognition
January 2023
Liminal InterfacesSEC Undergraduate Lounge
As people, we are defined by our identity. But we often fail to acknowledge this. The boxes we check off on surveys and applications constrain us to certain expectations and impose certain assumptions on our behalf. What occurs when we do not abide by the constraints of a singular box, and, instead, fit into many categories? What if these distinguishing features conflict with one another? How can we define our own identity when our diversity runs through a spectrum? Very easily, confusion with our own sense of identity, becomes a place of uncertainty and liminality. A place where ‘weird and scary’ is our reality.
In his graphic novel, No Longer Human, Japanese manga artist Junji Ito illustrates how failure to claim ownership over one’s own identity, leads to the lack of self-identity. His book is a gory piece, and is an illustrated version of Osamu Dazai’s original work, with the same title. Ito’s horror-entwined visual interpretation of a loss of humanity portrays the idea of liminality in the context of identity. Through VR, you are immersed in the ‘weird and scary’ optics of identity as a liminal interface.
Team
Kassandra Rodriguez-Acosta ‘26AnhPhu Nguyen ‘25
Alina Yu ‘25
This project was part of Conflux Residency 2023: Liminal Interfaces