Growing Your Tree
January 2023
Liminal InterfacesSEC Undergraduate Lounge
It is an effort to bring our perspective more closely to that of a tree as a representation of the natural world. This is done via an immersive built environment which simulates the experience of trees. In this space, the viewer is virtually scanned and their silhouette is projected onto the environment. This silhouette transforms and develops to be something hybridized between person and tree. The user is invited to interact with the surroundings and think about the interactions and relationships we form with the natural world.
Team
Kidist Alemu ‘23Priscilla Cheav ‘25
Holden Edmonds ‘23
This project was part of Conflux Residency 2023: Liminal Interfaces
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
#showerthoughts
January 2023
Liminal InterfacesSEC Undergraduate Lounge
Random thoughts that pop up in our minds, especially in liminal spaces, are some of the most fascinating expressions of human creativity and randomness. These miscellaneous thoughts are typically referred to as “shower thoughts”—as you can imagine, a shower itself is a liminal space. This data visualization project is meant to celebrate this concept.
Team
Karen Li ‘24Ricky Williams ‘23
This project was part of Conflux Residency 2023: Liminal Interfaces
Inner Piece
January 2023
SEC Undergraduate Lounge
Inner Piece takes place in a closed room, isolated from exterior light and sound. Inside, reflective surfaces line the walls—transforming the enclosed space into a disorienting, expansive one. A cloud of reflective shards are suspended in the center of the room, gently responsive to the movement of participants through the room. Ambient light fills the room from above, pulsating to a participant’s heartbeat, captured via a finger heart rate monitor. An atmospheric audio of ambient noise, featuring internal bodily sounds like that of blood flow, plays in the background. This exhibit seeks to explore the dimensions of the self by blurring the line between the internal and external. By being in an environment both subtly and directly reflective of one’s body, the participant can engage with the unfamiliar experience of perceiving themselves—it is in this liminal threshold between self and projected self that one might feel suspended, just like the shards central to the exhibit.
Much like how cupping hands around ears allows one to hear the rushing of their blood, Inner Piece invites a participant to direct their attention inwards. Feel free to take a seat in the middle of the room, shut your eyes, or flit around the space and watch it react to your movement.
Team
Liya Ji ‘23Julian Li ‘25
Sera McDonald ‘24
This project was part of Conflux Residency 2023: Liminal Interfaces
Passage to Possibility
January 2023
Liminal InterfacesSEC Undergraduate Lounge
The concept of liminal space, as defined by licensed social worker Melissa Cohen, refers to a state of transition or transformation. As Ms. Cohen eloquently stated, "Uncertainty can be very uncomfortable, lonely, overwhelming, paralyzing, emotionally demanding and mentally exhausting. But, it can also be transformative and valuable, providing creativity, strength and the opportunity to move forward, evolve, grow and develop a mindset that anything is possible."
Passage to Possibility serves as a visual representation of this liminal space, depicting it as a dark and mysterious realm. It is our hope that the viewer will be made to feel uneasy or uncomfortable upon beholding this piece, which will feature a tunnel and elements of a post-apocalyptic landscape, rendered in cool and somber tones. Furthermore, we use Augmented Reality technology in order to showcase the other side of liminal space, one that is characterized by positivity and light. This will be achieved through the emphasis of a 3D tunnel and the inclusion of a more clear image that appears at its end.
Team
Kaitlyn Zhou ‘25Alina Yu ‘25
This project was part of Conflux Residency 2023: Liminal Interfaces