The Comfort of Liminal Spaces (and The Desire to Disappear)
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- Liminal Spaces have been a popular subject on youtube for the last few months. But while everybody talks about them being creepy and unsetteling, nobody appreciates the comfort that those seemingly basic picture can provide.
In this video I talk about how liminal spaces can be a source of comfort when you're in the right state of mind...or much rather in a bad state of mind...
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▶Music used at 00:00: The Caretaker - Libet's Delay
▶Music used at 00:33: CO.AG - You know what i need ( • Dark Ambient Backgroun... )
▶Music used at 01:32: The Caretaker - My heart will stop in joy
▶Music used at 06:25: Atomiste - Chrome Spires ( • Chrome Spires )
▶Music used at 25:05: Fallen Down (originally by Toby Fox) slowed + reverb - Sunshine ( • Undertale OST - fallen... )
▶Liminal space compilation used in chapter 5: • Compilation of Liminal...
▶Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
03:21 - Chapter 1 - What is a Liminal Spaces?
09:38 - Chapter 2 - Where do they come from?
14:21 - Chapter 3 - What makes them creepy?
20:26 - Chapter 4 - What do comfortable liminal spaces look like?
25:06 - Chapter 5 - What makes liminal spaces comfortable?
#liminalspace #liminalspaces #liminal - Розваги
UA-cam compression really screwed me over on this one. The live-action stuff looks really pixelated here. I apologize, can't really change that :/
umesh
Still looks great man. Dont be so hard on yourself
That actully adds to the imersion.
The video itself its jawdropping nevertheless.
It's the writing that matters
It actually adds the liminal vibe to the whole thing
Finally someone says it. Liminal space images (without people adding crazy monsters) always made me feel comfortable and at home
Those images always made me uneasy. The monsters ruin it for me since the point is that you're alone.
@@thecapitalg Same, liminal spaces always felt off to me. Like how it'd be to be alone for real. Adding monsters takes away
I think people started adding monsters to them because of the false sense of security the spaces have, which gives them a bigger fear factor. It's honestly kinda smart, if you're wanting to scare people at least.
@@TonedVirus3 but it's boring
@@TonedVirus3 there is truly a lack of monsters that can blend well with liminal spaces, something not phisical maybe
When I look at certain liminal spaces, it gives me this beautiful forlorn feeling. Like looking at a picture of an old place in your childhood hometown you will never go to again, or a picture of an old friend you don’t talk to anymore. Something that remains as only a memory, the fuzzy quality of the pictures kind of looks like how memories look in your mind, the details unclear but the feelings remain.
Yes, when I was kid and my cousins would come to play, it would become a liminal space when they went home
@@danielpeterson2702 I remember I was watching a movie in the living room with some friends (The Emperor's New Groove and we were watching it around 2008), after they went to bed and I was left by myself awake (sleep over) in the room it felt just like a liminal space. I just remember reflecting on how just an hour ago the room was lively with laughter, talking, the movie, etc., and now it was strangely sad. I also felt very nostalgic somehow for a time that was only an hour ago.
Like a "burning memory"?
@@danielpeterson2702 makes me cry honestly, not crying because I'm sad or want to go back, but I'm so fond of my childhood memories
Well said
I think part of the creepiness is that, while liminal spaces look abandoned, they haven't overgrown, rotten, or otherwise decayed. That adds an unsettling layer of "life does not come to this place, even time itself will leave me alone here."
It took me forever to really nail that down but I think that's a *huge* part of it.
Liminal space photos with open doors are creepier than those without.
Thank you. What are you quoting?
@@umbralobfuscatrix3060 nothing - just my way to put it
Omg yes EXACTLY. Like that post about hotels. "No past. No Future."
In my life I feel like I'm always running from Time. I'm always aware of its passing, and to be left alone by it, even without much to do, sounds like a unique kind of little heaven
Don't get it. The quote you took a long time to formulate is seemingly meaningless to me. Can't even decipher the syntax
I actually went for a walk at around my old neighborhood and elementary school at like 2 in the morning and it felt like I was in a different dimension. It's like a representation of my life when I used to be happy and carefree, but now it's just dark and empty.
This is so true… nothing was the same after starting middle school nor the pandemic… For so long I yearned to go back to Summer 2016…but now I realize, it wasn’t the year I miss…it was the carefree nature back then…😢
@@xtremeyoylecakealso its feels like you had a life back then, now just addicted to the internet and you ve to motivate yourself to do stuff you called living idk
@@Leon-gr2oo yeah ik… although I did have an internet addiction back then as well, I think it’s a mix of that addiction and growing up at the same time… I really gotta change something
Damn. That hit me right in the gut.
I accidentally ending up driving by my elementary school at night like 2 decades after having last seen it. I had never seen it at night. It felt so surreal, like an echo of a memory or a dream.
This may be an introvert / extrovert thing. But to me, the feeling I get from abandoned malls, pools, cinemas, etc. is one of freedom. They seem like cool places to hang out when no one else is there-an escape from all the noise, expectations, and constraints. I dream of being able to move into an abandoned mall. That would be so cool… except for the amenity costs.
no i’m an extrovert but sometimes I just want to disassociate from reality for a while
I used to work closing shifts at a mall, and it was pretty cool seeing it all empty. Really unique chill vibes. I mean it wasn't completely empty - there were a few of my coworkers and janitors, wonder if it would turn creepy if that wasn't the case
i’m glad i found my niche
As an introvert, i would never want to be alone in an endless place
@@The_SipMe too
Throughout my life I've found myself fantasizing about being the only person in the world for just one day. That way I would be free to explore anywhere I wanted without consequence, and I wouldn't need to worry too much about survival as I would feel safe with the knowledge that everyone would be back the next day. To me liminal space images act as a brief window into what that scenario would be like. Really well made video, it's nice to see this aspect of the liminal space phenomenon explored.
I feel you! It's nice to see people having similar views on liminal spaces :)
Glad I’m not the only one.
I have similar fantasies, about being able to wander this world or others for as long as I like, but Interestingly I don’t usually imagine them lasting just a day. I don’t want to be alone forever, I just want the feeling of being free to explore.
What all can you explore in a single day though? Not very much
Man, I would just sleep that day away
I have social anxiety and am suspected of being on the autism spectrum. People always overwhelm me and I have a constant desire to be alone. I like to daydream about exploring a world that has no people at all, just for a little while. Liminal spaces are the closest thing I can get to that experience
same
Me too
Try lucid dreaming, its like that, you can controll everything 👍
@@HyperDevv I tried that…I only manage to control my thoughts…never my actions tho…
@@xtremeyoylecakeyeah, it also has many downside (lucid nightmares)
I came here for liminal spaces, not for a whole therapy session 😭 I think you've helped me pinpoint why exactly I've developed this weird love and interest for liminal spaces. This was such a well made video. Thank you.
Therapy is unavoidable. Specially on this society (to be fair, that on could use some therapy).
Pretty much these images are the closest reflection of what the world looks like through a childs lense, at least in my opinion from my own point of view. It brings back a very specific nostalgia of what it was like being so small in such a big world, places feeling familiar but not yet recognizing the patterns, locations constantly being new and unfamiliar.
Yesss! I also realized this feeling is childhood. Everything feels like a dream because reality is not complete yet. Like you said, you dont recognize patterns. I am so surprised you feel the exact same way about these.
@@artimus4198 omg good point!! This is very fascinating
Looking at those images feels like recalling childhood memories you've never had.
Before i was even familiar with the concept of liminal spaces, i would often find myself thinking of something irrelevant and suddenly catching an intense sense of nostalgia and uneasiness, followed by mental images of something large, lonely and calming
I feel similar, but the opposite. To me part of what makes many of these images so striking is that while they channel childhood, they mask it with our current understanding of the world. The sadness comes from knowing that you will never see these spaces through the same lense again. To me, many of these images are about mourning the loss of our innocence and sense of wonder.
Yes, this is exactly how I feel as well!
Liminal spaces are like a dream to me. To just disappear into these empty places with seemingly no context or goal. To forget the stress of life and just explore the eerie lonely areas, where your only goal is to just appreciate what you are seeing.
All my life I have had the comfort for places like this, for me it gives me a feeling of peace and happiness, I have suffered from depression and anxiety the most of my life, but when I see or are in places like this, I feel like all my problems and thoughts disappear, i feel happy and at peace, this properly sounds weird, but playing games like Silent hill gives me the same feels.
@@unispekt visit Iceland if you can . nothing but silence and emptiness. pure bliss
It only feels a warm fuzzy thought to play in the head to think you could go on being in such moments of total isolation & believe you'd enjoy that. Logically No One will survive the total detachment of life in the Backrooms (if entities are not a thing) simply cause you're not immortal & immune to entropy. To survive you'll always need basic amenities no matter how isolated your place is. If the Backrooms existed for real it will not give you that luxury...no matter what different fan lores suggests with finding random stuffs like almond water! LoL.
I think the desire for this feeling you're describing is what inspires a l lot of urban explorers and the like. Watching URBEX vids and similar things on UA-cam years back first gave me the 'liminal' feeling and I always liked it. An excellent channel that depicts such things is This Is Dan Bell
to live in the moment
its crazy how just an image can make you feel comfortable, or make you feel a certain way.
not really, actually. I mean, an image is just a still photo of something or someone from real time, and if the thing shown in that image makes you feel a certain way as if you were right there in front of it, then of course it would invoke that same feeling
My mental health is great but liminal spaces give me a positive feeling that can’t describe it’s like nothing I’ve felt.
When I was a teenager I used to dream a lot about being alone in big spaces like supermarkets, malls, hotels, airports and places like that. I never felt uneasy, alone or scared in those places, I was actually having a blast exploring those. Liminal spaces bring me back to those memories and it´s true that monsters and other entities ruin them. It´s all about being with yourself in this crazy busy world.
i have that same feeling
Same
I used to have those dreams all the time too. There's places you can go to be made by meow wolf that has dream like areas to explore. In reality wanting to go someday.
Same, that is how I can describe my dreams
i agree, i don't like all the entities and monsters
I'm so glad someone else gets this feeling. For a ton of my life growing up, I just had this desire to disappear. Or maybe it was a desire for everyone else to disappear. When I would lay in bed at night I would imagine myself stepping through some sort of tear in space and walking into an exact copy of the world that had zero people in it. I'd imagine walking around in my city with nobody around, no noise, no anything. It always made me feel so good.
I can totally relate to finding both happiness and comfort, as well as sadness and loneliness, in abandoned spaces. For instance, at work, my area was empty for an extended period, and I found myself waiting for the next task. I took a deep breath, relieved that no one was looking my way, judging me subconsciously, or causing awkward silences. It was just me, feeling free to stand however I wanted or stare into a corner without being seen as strange. Maybe that's what being neurodivergent is like, or perhaps it's a result of being on the autistic spectrum, introverted, or just a quirk of my personality. I've always cherished isolation, even though it can get lonely. Hearing the distant voices of people talking nearby, I thought, "I just want people 'around,' but to be by myself." That's the sweet spot for me.
On a related note, during the pandemic a few years back, I worked on decontaminating places with COVID. Driving through the deserted city streets felt surreal, like a glimpse of the apocalypse after humanity's demise. I wondered if I was brave or foolish for venturing into the epicenters of the virus that had people hiding indoors. Honestly, I didn't care what happened to me, and nothing ever did. It's this strange dance with death I occasionally engage in, a desire to vanish for good.
I always saw "Liminal Spaces" as a sort of art. Whenever something is empty there is no story, correct?
We live in a life full of stories told every single day whether they be complex or simplistic. For instance, you go to the grocery store and, just out of view, a kid is crying just behind you as you're loading in your items in the self checkout section.
The reason why I find beauty in the idea of "Liminal Spaces" artful derives from the very example. It holds no story compared to everything in our daily lives.
This is what makes me think about the places since my brain wants to fill in the space with what it was or is.
I think this is one of the many reasons why people love to explore and look for the replicated version in real life. It's the idea that the story was left untold and people simply wanted
to get an answer. This simply makes it so artistic as the picture or idea itself is there to be understood differently by an array of people.
(Sorry, I do not share this "disappearance" feeling)
Same, except kid me would imagine having a button that launches every nuke on earth so I could order politicians in single file to lick dog shit off my feet, among other uses.
This is way too relatable. I used to dream of a similar thing but I'd craw through like a whole and it would portal me to that world. I always hit up the toy store alone and just did whatever in wanted in said dream. Very still, empty, but safe feeling.
That yearning to walk around in liminal spaces is why I love single player gmod. I swear a majority of the maps in that game are liminal spaces :D
Another thing comforting to me about this genre is the emptiness. It’s lonley and unnerving, sure, but when I’m always feeling and seeing so much, it’s nice. I spend so much of my time overstimulated and overwhelmed. Being angry, being happy, being scared, grief those are draining. Being mildly sad, being lonely, being a little unnerved, it’s a break. It’s cold, but when my skin is covered in burns the cold is soothing.
Liminal spaces can be secret places to enjoy simply being alive in comfort
For me liminal spaces always remind me of the time that I lost and it brings me deep sadness, nostalgia, and a sense of being left behind. I was abused(physically) my whole life and I was always so terrified to even express myself for fear of getting hurt again so I just never lived my life how I wanted. I lived my entire life in fear and now that I realize how traumatized I actually was a part of me wants to go back to those days and live them properly and actually feel alive in those moments but seeing these liminal spaces makes it agonizingly apparent that those moments are lost to the sands of time. Its as if a kid version of me is coming back to school after being sick for a 2 days trying to catch up on what I missed but instead of 2 days it's 2 decades, everyone moved on when you weren't able to, there is no one left to share those beautiful moments with you. If you try to re-experience those moments(if you're able to at all) you would be missing out on experiences here right now and missing out on those moments would be painful as well. As silly as it sounds I feel like a time traveler who desperately wants to go home but can't leaving me with memories of an older time and a lot of bittersweet nostalgia.
Very well written! This song reminds me of this time at school...I knew even back then that I wasn't living it out as I should, but had no idea how to do it. Anyway, it's all gone and I've accepted that my life path is different, more solitary but satisfying :) ua-cam.com/video/ecc9blNq9N0/v-deo.html
I experience derealization and depersonalization a lot. while it may seem scary, its weirdly comforting. It's like I'm the only person in my own little liminal world, mine to keep that no one can hurt anymore.
I had a few very obvious disassociation events in the past year. It was kind of numbing and comfortable afterwards, even though it was very surreal and I was feeling it out of stress.
I know it's not as long as other comments and whatnot but.. well..
*Been there done that.*
@@aazhie well, that’s why you do it. It’s the psychological equivalent of your brain trying to calm you down by wrapping your ego in a fuzzy comforter.
Don't you feel like everything you know doesn't exist or was forgotten during those moments? Idk maybe that's just something else.
same, it happens so...many times and this comment really reflects my words and way of thinking about it
This is why I love Edward Hopper's paintings. So many people have said his artworks are empty and isolated places, containing dread. All my life I've seen his paintings as so very comforting. I want to be there. I see beauty in his places. I want to be there.
I love his stuff too... and the isolation of his paintings intrigued me and comforted me... especially the one in the movie theater.... apparently it is said he was trying to display our isolation from each other and nature in the modern age of industry...
But according to this video liminal spaces images should not contain figures right? So Hopper's paintings are somewhat different from this things in the video, aren't they? I also understand the feeling of Hopper's paintings with or without people in it. But it seems to me that the most of the photographs in this video were classified with very simple rules. the photograph of enclosed space with sun lights are "favorable liminal spaces" and if it doesn't have a portal to the space lit by the sun it became "creepy liminal space"...umm, I really don't understand this "ascetic". What is your interpretation of this liminal spaces things???
"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted"
@付和雷同 In his paintings, the people might as well be mannequins, or props, themselves. They have become objects, to my vision.
Tension and repose in the same frame.
It's exactly how I feel about these places, whenever I have anxiety over life, these liminal spaces help me to feel a lot more calm and relaxed, it's been a comforting sort of escape, kind of like leaving this world for a while, and going into the dreamworld, where I don't have to think about my problems because they don't even exist in that place.
I remember as a kid I used to have these dreams where I find a door in my house, or my grandparents house, and find a bunch of new rooms. Like, essentially a whole new house attached to the house I'm familiar with, completely normal with furniture and stuff, but absolutely nobody there. Just me wandering these new rooms by myself, free to return to the familiar house should I so choose. Liminal space imagery reminds me of those old dreams. I kinda miss them, something felt relaxing about it, I kinda wish those dreams would come back.
That kinda sounds like a non-creepy coraline
My x lived in an apartment in a 2 family house that had word little doors in some rooms. Some of the doors were so tiny no one could go through them. A few of them were big enough to fit through if you crawled. This was before cell phones were something literally everyone had no matter what. He didn't have one. But in front of multiple people he went into one of the tiny doors and there were what he considered rooms back there. He said it looked like some rooms had just been entirely covered up with only tiny doors that have access to them. It was pretty cool.
I have these sort of dreams as well sometimes, they're fun honestly lol
Yep, I often dream I am in large empty buildings, often with apartments, where I have free run of the place.
I'm 30 and I still have dreams where its my house, kind of, but a bunch of new rooms and hallways and stuff and I always wake up disappointed that my house isn't actually that way.
"have you ever wondered why liminal spaces feel to empty? it's because you're supposed to fill the void."
GOD. WHAT A LINE. *VERY* well done.
But, what if I am the void?
@@KozelPraiseGOELRO 0 + 0 = 0
@@attackoramic8361 0 / 0 ^ 0 = ?
0 ÷ 0 = YOU
@@nevaehhamilton3493 sad cookie monster
I think, for me, part of the reason that spaces like these are comforting is the fact that I grew up without siblings. This meant that I was alone more than other kids would have been, and I found comfort in it. I always loved being alone in places as a child, and that's why Liminal Spaces speak to me in this comforting manner.
It's great to see someone make a video topic about exactly what I always think of with liminal spaces. It's always very comforting or nostalgic to me, a sort of escape or distant feeling to gaze at that imagery.
Take me back to a place that seemed so simple at one point. A time where everything wasn't so complicated and overwhelming.
The music choices as well, that kind of music is always so calming, the older songs.
To me, liminal spaces kind of feel like a manifestation of your mind existentially wandering all over the place when you're by yourself and you got nothing to do. As a fellow content creator, this video essay is really inspiring from deconstructive point of view. Very well analyzed.
Thank you mart. That means a lot coming from you
For me liminal spaces remind me of the dreams I have that feel like the place in between dreams and nightmares, like being trapped in a horror film but without a monster to chase you so you are left anticipating something to happen but nothing ever does and you are left just feeling trapped in limbo.
I am actually glad liminal spaces have become popular because now I can but a name to the feeling I get when I have those dreams.
I have dreams like that from time to time. This dreamlike quality is what I love about liminal spaces.
𝓞𝓴
for real though. sometimes i have dreams which really shouldn't be scary and the aren't but they just feel so weird like I'm stuck doing a certain action or in a space. however the definition in this vid the aren't liminal since they contain people, but only ones i know so that feels just as weird. i guess the mind is kinda goofy like that
i hate when i go to public places and have to face the public. i have severe anxiety and paranoia, i’ve made a lot of improvements but im still uncomfortable in loud crowded places. it’s so pleasant to roam hotels at night when everyone is asleep or to have a theatre room all to yourself at a late showing
How can a single video describe me perfectly. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more understood. Something about limital space makes me feel understood and i can just wish to be alone walking around in those pictures endlessly and feel happy. When i realize that i can probably never just disappear and live in those pictures i get jealous or just overwhelmed.
First of all, thanks for including my pictures!
Great video, I just wanted to point something out that is an important aspect of liminal spaces and the liminal feeling, at least in my opinion. I know that it is kind of implied by the fact that the lighting in the pictures is artificial, but the lack of windows adds to the creepiness as you can't immediately point out the general structure or entering point of the depicted spaces. On the other hand, this adds to the comfort as you can't be seen or found in a place without windows.
I would also strongly suggest to anyone interested in the topics of liminal spaces and dreamcore to look into the Italian Surrealism od Giorgio de Chirico.
Thank you and great observation! I was actually thinking of this while doing research for this video, but in the end I forgot to write it into the script :/
I’m actually using some of Giorgio de Chirico’s works as inspiration for my Art GCSE
Giorgio is still one of my favorites
i have been obsessed with the backrooms because of how pleasant it was to actually feel the loneliness i needed
Same, Backrooms feel like a reality I want to relax and chill at forever.
Same dude
Yes, I haven't wanted to say that cause I didn't want to take away or undermine the popular feelings, but I'd honestly consider going on a vacation there if I could.
I'd pay quite a bit of money to stay in the backrooms for like an hour
We struggle to find the individual comforts of solitude while remaining a creature that craves the company of others. The dual identity of a sentient being
During Covid we were allowed out to go food shopping. Our supermarket is the other end of a huge mall. Normally it was packed with crowds and there was music. Walking through all alone was eerie enough but the lack of sounds was what really hit. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. The reason was sad but the calm was delicious.
This video reminded me of something. When I was 8 years old I came to school too early (6:30) when no one except the night guard was there. I remember the feeling of looking at the empty dark corridors and the fact that I am alone here to enjoy this... It was... fun in a way. If I had anyone with me, I would have to talk to them or laugh at their jokes or some other nonsense. But the feeling I had while being there alone couldn't be shared because of its nature. Spacious rooms with a high (>3m) ceiling in the night or without windows designed to be filled or used by a crowd of people (but void of any whatsoever) still give me that kind feeling. Good stuff.
Man, I even remembered the way I like to play minecraft. I played on Peaceful in Creative Super-Flat world. And it was empty. I'm gonna have to install minecraft again, aren't I?
Pretty powerful the way you just snagged me there... Flicked me back to that place with your description. People are the worst, but then one of them does something like that and it makes one think maybe there are similar people, within our somewhat solo context... Nice. An unexpected hope for relationships and relatedness within this solitary portrait.
Art historian here… love this video. Note: the use of the term liminal and in reference to space/visual etc has been used in art jargon for a long time, but because art academia is pretty niche, it wouldn’t show as trending use but has been in use for ages. Love the uncanny valley reference, so true.
That‘s really interesting, I actually didn’t know about this. Thanks for letting me know!
The comfort I get from liminal spaces is like.. a memory from my childhood. Like a big empty room or mall, I’d just want to run around in. A sense of awe, almost like an Alice in wonderland feeling
It reminds me of an easier, simpler time. It brings me comfort to be just a little bit closer to that time.
the way the pictures are introduced is super scary, the short wait that stretches out for what feels like way too long. and it is the perfect amount of time to let you sit in fear waiting for the image. You’ve earned my sub.
After finishing this I can confidently say it deserves 1M views
Thanks bro
The magic of liminal spaces is that you can imagine yourself in every single situation; swimming around, carefree and alone, in the pool, crying in the corner from the darkness near, and maybe playing around in the playroom, sliding down the slide, swinging on the swing. They give me a sense of comfort when I just want to be alone and when I've had a rough day that I can find a comforting experience to live inside my head.
start lucid dreaming then
and you can be in whatever lucid dream you want to be in for a day. A lucid dream can feel like a whole day when its only a few hours. The best bit about it is that it feels just as real as real life, you can smell, touch, taste
A good point a friend brought up to me was, “It’s not that your afraid of being alone in these large spaces, it’s that your afraid your not alone in these large empty spaces.”
As a trained photographer I felt the whole UA-cam compression thing lol. But at the same time your composition was still breath taking to me at least.
Also glad finally someone put my thoughts into words. This was spot on!~ ❤
The video was well written, and the live action segments both worked really effectively and were stunning~ grate job!~
For me, Liminal Spaces are more about the fear of being forgotten and left behind. These places are desolate because their occupants have left to another location, but the veiwer remains. They're scarier when its just you wandering wide halls, clearly built for far more than one person to traverse. Droning ambience to suggest someone's still invested in the preservation of a space no longer utilized. If it were simply abandoned, the lights wouldnt still be on.
Wow, I’m so surprised whenever I see my work in the wild online (a friend shared this with me!) I really appreciate your commentary on liminal spaces and that you believe my work fits under it, I try hard to find the perfect balance between dreamy and eerie moments in my work.
HEY! I love your work, thanks so much for commenting. Glad you appreciate my interpretation 🙏 :)
i really connected with your artwork. my dreams often feature very strange architecture. recently i had a dream about a 1000 step staircase that led to a normal length slide at the end. once i looked back, the staircase was instead a very long ladder. i felt very connected to that dream after seeing the picture at 21:05. apart from my colours, this image feels exactly like that dream i had. the thing is though, i was actually terrified in that dream. i was so scared of falling down into infinity and losing everything. yet, this image causes me to forget about that. i can now relive that dream with a more positive feeling, simply because you managed to capture it in this sort of beautiful manner. i had a similar feeling with the pictures at 20:28 and 20:55 too.
i've always wanted to use video games to construct my dreams. i've watched the streamer Vinny Vinesauce play liminal space maps in gmod, and it is very comforting to watch him navigate these empty, comforting places. exploring them just like i wish to explore my dreams one more time after waking up.
thank you, your work has inspired me.
I think your work is really perfect, you capture the feelings so well, amazing colors and weird structures, i'm really glad this video made me discover your stuff
Hey, I absolutely adore your work. The pictures in this video alone were gorgeous, and I think that you captured that "dreamy" facet of liminal spaces extremely well.
I have a quick question. Was your work inspired at all by some pieces in the vaporwave scene? Your artwork reminds me a lot of some old vaporwave videos I used to watch all the time. Specifically, the pieces in this video look very similar to the Paradise Disc series by Blank Banshee. This section of this video (5/6 in the series, Java Clouds) really reminded me of your work:
ua-cam.com/video/dnet6vhW9co/v-deo.html
I was just wondering if you had taken inspiration from it, of if you saw the same connection at all?
Again, thank you so much for making the art that you do. I genuinely find it very comforting and beautiful.
Your work has literally gotten me out of some super.. super terrible places blind the past.
Thanks.
As a kid who's always wanted to go beyond the invisible walls in videogames it brings me strong curiosity to look at these images, just like when I was younger. The fact that you are also alone in the pov of the picture it resembles freedom. Malls, hallways, parking lots, gas stations, etc. all bring me strong curiosity and almost a plea or crave to investigate into the image further.
omg, u reminded me of a feeling that I had when I was a kid :OO thanks
Yes!!!!! What’s behind that high wall??? What’s behind the gate??? What happened before the photo was take ??? There’s a beauty to it.
it comforts me because it tells me, that even at the end of everything, when there's nothing left, there will still be our accomplishments.
if a species learns to live in a world without a sun, they will find our creations, run down machines, that they could operate. open building they could use. it's comforting in a way, knowing that when everything is over, we will still leave our greatest accomplishments, to whatever becomes the next intelligent species.
I was in a bad mood and feeling down. But, watching this video really helped me through this tough time and even the way you intended us at the end of this video. We all have those days when we feel depressed, isolated, hopelessness, and acceptance. It proves that liminal spaces aren't scary, they are there to make you feel calm, give you peace and imagine how it feels spending there for atleast a day, that's what I've seen in my dreams and it was fun being there. It's like, a whole different dimension containing imaginable things in your dreams.
You earned a sub, I'll always be here to watch your videos especially it fixed my bad mood. Thank you ❤
I love this video, it describes exactly how I feel about a lot of liminal space pictures. A lot of liminal space pictures can give off that unsettling vibe but I've always felt oddly comforted by them with their combinations of loneliness, nostalgia, and vague familiarity. It makes me want to go into those pictures and just lie on the ground. It brings a weird sense of belonging
I relate to that. It seems like it would be easy to find a comfy spot to just lay down and not do much for a rest
I'm autistic, and easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. I think that plays a large role in my generally finding liminal space photos comfortable. I took a walk to a store a month back, around midnight. Walked past some traffic lights, empty roads, empty railways. Everything was like it usually is, just without other people. There was only me; no loud noises hurting my ears, no external sensory input that overwhelmed me. I've experienced the same while going to malls early in the morning, just prior to all the stores opening. I even have a bunch of pictures on my phone of typical "liminal spaces" I've encountered while out on my shenanigans. No once have I felt fearful or unnerved in those situations; rather the opposite.
👉🌕 that moment
Same
I’ve done the same thing at night, except to walk to a natural area to get away from the light pollution to see the stars. When in the streets, i strangely didnt feel scared because i know people are here, just not in sight and sleeping, and i had the quiet, comforting dark to myself with the rustling trees and lights ^^
There's a certain loneliness to a lot of these...but maybe that's just because I am somewhat. The peace you describe, I also experience. I like the selflessness also.
There may actually be an "absence of sensory stimuli" component to the concept of liminal spaces. I found that turning on some relaxing ambient instead of music (I used to have something rhythmic to speed up the transition to my destination) and walking on an empty street makes me feel sort of... peaceful (mellow, out of focus).
when I was first confronted with liminal spaces my first thought was that it gave me comfort but no one seemed to understand it
so thanks for showing another side to liminal spaces :D
This is a very well done video-essay. I am writing my thesis for a master degree and i chose this subject, the liminal space aesthetic. I am half-way though the writing and 1 year, on the internet, is a geologic era, i know but things are essentially the way as you describe them.
I would add something though: the feeling you talk about can be interlaced with something more systemic: in a certain sense, yes, we all share the same swimming pool and the same school corridor and it feels like we had a whole childhood in common. Marc Augé theorized this sense as produced by "non-places", places that do not produce sociality but loneliness, places where the environment speaks for itself and human interaction is the bare minimum or places overcharged with stimuli, symbols and colours. Moreover, the feeling you talk about can be contextualized and confronted with the ideas of an english philosopher, Mark Fisher, who reshaped the meaning of "hauntology", term coined by Jacques Derrida: Fisher's hauntology states that future is no more possible, and because of that the present is haunted by the past's optimism and promises of greatness and wealth. It is a very complex subject and i am very happy i found your video: would it be okay for you if i quote this video in my work?
Thank you so much, I‘m honoured. Use the video as you wish :)
My dreams are a labyrinth that used to be liminal space until I found use for them. Now they're my comfort. One room is a layered library full of every single word I've read and memories I store. I keep skeleton keys for the doors.
How do I do this with my dreams??
@Sjood it helps to mediate on the concepts you want before you sleep. Calmly think about the structure or ideas that would be pleasant and restful and repeat a phrase. Saying "I will remember my dreams" is a way to remember dreams, so what about "I will bring order to my dreams" ?
@@Sjood-qs8ol eat cocaine
ah yeas
Skeyletons
@@davimatos985 💀🔑
I don’t think I remember a time where I haven’t had mental health issues. The idea of getting better is scary because i’ve found comfort in my issues. This is what liminal space reminds me of, inside my mind where even if it’s slightly unsettling it’s familiar and comforting.
that's pretty much coping mechanism. When people can't deal with their problems, they accept them.
Edit: i meant to say can't not can.
thats real asf. ive never been able to put that thought into word, thank you
No that’s just logical fallacy 😅
all women are planning to murder me, i can probably take them but I'm scared
This video found me on the right day, at the right time, thank you for saying what I’m sure a lot of us have felt for awhile
I really needed this...
Thank you
Liminal spaces have always been comforting and familiar to me. I grew up moving around a lot because of my dad's job so I was constantly exposed to "transition" spaces: houses without any furniture. The back of an empty Uhaul truck before we loaded it late at night. Roadside hotels on a cross country moving trip as we pulled in at midnight with abandoned parking lots and buzzing street lamps. Those places...the world between the worlds...that other place away from everything while our life was suspended and before we could build a new one in the next place. Those places were foreign yet they were also home for me. Not to mention that I grew up in the early 2000s. So when I see these pictures, especially ones from that era, I am transported back to the infinite potential of that comforting yet daunting world of change.
this exactly. plus the ight time drop offs at desolate urban locations between separated parents, and as a teen using the wee hours of the night as an escape as well, there's such a strange comfort in these.
@@colorblockpoprocks6973 ooh, yes, staying awake in a sleeping house, then sleeping when they are all awake.
Ohhh, same here. You evoked that beautifully, thank you. The part that 'got' me the most was the street lamps. Old sodium vapor lights, that slightly greenish-white light and the buzz....those details bring it all back.
I grew up in a similar situation. I was an only child and went to 10 different schools growing up because of all the moving around. I couldn't quite put into words what I found comforting about liminal spaces, but I think you hit the nail on the head. I think what makes liminal spaces so creepy to most is that they aren't used to being alone and that scares them. I never understood their level of discomfort about it, because it simply doesn't bother me because I was such an independent child growing up. I see liminal spaces as blank canvases or places of peace....places to explore on your own even.
well said.
Lately I've been extremely numb and I feel so disconnected from the world. I recently have been very fascinated by liminal spaces especially the one with pools and I could never put into words how they made me feel. The last four minutes of your video said that absolutely perfectly. I needed this video. Thank you.
4:20 i would really visit this backroom hotel bc it really exist lol but i wouldnt stay a night on it. Since its liminal !!
I‘m glad I could help you by sharing my perspective, that really means a lot!
@@Scrabbl I know I'm just some random chick on the internet, but seriously....thank you for this.
i feel exactly the same! the poolrooms are my favourite too. but i hope someday you feel that connection with the world again :( remember you are not alone
Unsolicited advice, take cold showers / cold plunge and use saunas regularly. I've found they ground me pretty well and make me feel amazing for the rest of the day afterwards, and they have great health benefits
thanks a lot, man. I have never seen your content before, not have i ever really had interest in liminal spaces, going though this video was more of a background watch, then when you started part 5, I dont know what happened but i started to just focus on the video, and by the end of your conclusion i found myself in tears
great video and thank you for the new interest
This is a masterpiece! Thank you so much for introducing this to us in a such beautiful way!
It makes me happy to find I'm not the only one not really scared of liminal spaces, and actually find them comforting. I felt like I was crazy, everyone seemed so unnerved by them. But I never was, they make me feel a melancholic calm? It's really hard to describe, but I get the same feeling when out late at night in a city. The entire world is quiet, and it's just me. Alone. But not lonrly?
yes. I worked in bars/clubs for a decade and I associate the dead streets at 4am with getting out of work feeling calm and relieved
thank you this is a better description that i've seen on why you/in general some people/ like liminal spaces. the other comments that i saw don't elaborate on anything, so it just comes off as them trying to be edgy or Fnaf-y or different from the crowd
honestly thought i was the only one finding these images comforting, glad to see im not just weird lol
Same here
SAME 🙃
This was really well made, good job.
what an amazing video, thank you for making this
I personally see Liminal Spaces as terrifying but somewhat calming, on one hand it's terrifying because they take away the normality of never being alone, but in a liminal space you feel completely isolated, yet this is the same reason it's comforting to me, the ability to be alone and do what you want is exciting.
To the lonely introvert, the world is a liminal space.
I've always loved the rare occurrences I've wandered the empty streets at night. It feels like I've been granted the freedom of individuality without the chaos of others
@@SamuelBlack84 I remember when I was about 14 I was in my high school after hours, and walked the corridors when nobody else was there. It was REALLY weird. It was a perfect liminal space, before I'd come across the concept on the internet. In fact, that actually was in the 90s, or maybe the year 2000. So it truly was a liminal space haha. Looking back, it's a super weird memory. Not scary, but not comforting either. Something kind of indescribable.
@BodTheGrinch I had something similar in college when I found myself in a maze of corridors and empty rooms that looked like nobody had been there for years. I almost believe I had actually slipped into another dimension
@@SamuelBlack84 Oh damn! Yeah there's something about schools/colleges. Probably similar to the kid's playroom. Kids/teens are so loud. Weird juxtaposition for a kid/teen place to be lifeless.
I've always felt comforted by many of the liminal space images, ESPECIALLY the Dream Pool aesthetic. It almost irritates me how they've turned it into a horror genre and force the idea of monsters into it. Personally, I'd love to be there. Maybe not trapped forever, but to escape there.
I attribute this feeling to the trauma I grew up with. While loneliness causes me great suffering today, it's only triggered by watching everyone else being happy together while I have no one and have never fit in. However, if I could escape to somewhere I could be *truly* 100% alone, with nobody to come after me and nobody to envy, THEN I could finally be *safe*.
That is exactly the reason, for me, why liminal spaces are so comforting. The idea of being completely alone, so you're safe, is something I wish I could experience.
You really chose the perfect song for this video. Thank you. This video is comforting.
This was really in-depth and well researched. Subscribed!
Finally, a youtuber who gets it. Old Source maps aren't spooky at all, they leave me feeling comfy and oddly sad and nostalgic for something I never experienced. I never got into GMod during its golden age and seeing all these abandoned maps that once hosted so many fun experiences for others make me feel like I'm wandering through an abandoned ruin.
Finally , someone who’s comforted and not scared ! I love watching videos of liminal games just walking around and exploring the environments.
I mean if they truly were empty, liminal spaces would be pretty fun. Ending up in the Backrooms wouldn’t be that scary if there were no entities, but that’s precisely the problem.
These days, all of these stories coming out about liminal spaces primarily have to do with the Backrooms, which are absolutely infested with hundreds of different types of Entities, about 98% of which will try to kill you on sight.
So the problem is not that liminal spaces in and of themselves are scary, because theyre not; It’s the fact that everyone has to fill those endless liminal spaces with humanoid dogs and Smilers and things like Partygoers ((inside-out aliens that crave human flesh)) and all sorts of other things.
If you want too close to a window in the Backrooms, there’s a chance a demon will pull you in and torture you for eternity. So these once comforting spaces suddenly become terrifying because of what lives in them
Thank you so much for this! Watched it straight till the end and just then realized that it was a half an hour vid, very well produced!
When you don't "fit-in," when you're an outcast (an "outsider" but not by choice)... at first you "want to fit in," but eventually you get burnt-out trying and then the acceptance of "not fitting in" eventually makes places/ things that are normally considered with a negative connotation; actually "odly/ strangely comforting" (knowing that "normal people" will most likely avoid said place/ thing unintentionally grants you a moments respite... some peace to be "alone.").
I'm not surprised when some people have preferences that directly oppose what is avrage/ common (like when your favorite time of day is the time when no one else is awake/ out and about... it's relaxing/ calming being the only one in existance).
The "Liminal Spaces thing" has just been tapping into some people's subconscious fears of the ongoing collapse of the Babyboomer's civilization (all the infrastructure built to appease the largest generation in history... and the eerie aftermath/ reality of what things are going to be like/ are like "once the population begins to noticably collapse."). 🤔
Good video by the way... 😅 welcome to nihilism.
As someone who suffers from extreme agoraphobia i find unbelievable comfort in liminal places, especially outside at night with the orange glow of the artificial lights, and the sound of nothing but the natural wind
What an incredible video this made me feel seen in a way other liminal videos haven't, you really hit the nail on the head. The script and atmosphere you created here is art
The end just made me have goosebumps... Very good video
I used to work as a night shift janitor at a university. One of the buildings, a repurposed manufacturing plant, gave me a unique feeling. Being the only person on one floor, there were odd open spaces, and rooms that were made to fit an area not originally for them. Working there at night gave both a weird, unsettling feeling, but also an oddly comforting one. It was like a strange isolation, like everyone on earth had disappeared, but without any negative feelings. I honestly miss working there.
As an artist and an introvert who is in love with Vapor Wave and Liminal Space, i find such places comforting. Work, Life, Family, Friends etc. are all the things we go through, yet I want me. I want myself to be alone to be forgotten just for a while and spend my time walking and experiencing those artificial empty spaces. Im not sad nor do i feel like i need to in order to enjoy the experience. I just feel like its one of the times in which i get to spend time with me and this is one of many experiences i go through (frankly wish to go through irl) when I have that time for myself. I sometimes fantasize that VR, Augmented reality and future technology will give me such comforts.
Im glad that im not alone on this. I couldnt get anyone to see it the same way as I do except to maybe someordinarygaming.
Regarding your video, i really enjoy it and im happy to see that there are people who do feel the same way. In addition Gabrielle Salonga, had her work in those pinkish/blue colours that resonate so much with the vaporwave aesthetic, im sure she way aiming for that but even if not, the liminality is still there. I would recommend looking through Vapor Wave as a another medium to see liminal space, albeit simple its quite artistic. More so than Liminal space which can feel even more differently for people who enjoy Liminal Space.
Anyways keep up the good work, you got a sub and im excited to see what future videos ull bring.
I love the vapor wave aesthetic! Gabrielle Salonga's images definitely have a vapor wave vibe to them.
I can only recommend taking long walks at night. I did this for this video and it really did feel like I was inside a liminal space picture. (But make sure to take these walks in areas with a low criminal rate)
Also thank you for the sub, I really appreciate the kind words! :)
Theres a great video by Ross Scott about how he wants a way to rip worlds from 3d games, so he can explore them in vr
This video was amazing and eye-opening to watch. The feeling of comfort, and even a thrilling feeling, I've gotten from these kinds of pictures and places was finally described with words. I've felt these kinds of feelings in regard to liminal spaces since I was very young. Thank you for an exceptionally well-made video!
I love the songs you used in this video, a lot of them are actually on my Playlists and I sleep to em 99% of the time. Overall I love this video and I thank you for making this!
I absolutely love liminal spaces. It allows me to feel the feeling of having just bought the entire building or area. The same feeling of purchasing a stadium, and being able to walk in YOUR property without anyone to bother you. Its yours. Imagine owning an entire mall and getting to feel what its like to own it.
Imagine having that freedom with the entire world
@@zna9297 you make no sense.
I’ve had this fantasy since I was a child. I have truly found my people ❤
I would always think about decorating it. A wide open space with smooth floor would be a great skating rink. A large area with windows is where all the plants would live. It’s never been scary. It’s like an adventure
Dude I thought I was the only one
The Langoliers by Stephan King gives me the liminal space vibe. If we imagine that the space of our past existed somewhere and we go there, we see no people or anything really alive. The people and things that were there have moved forward into time, but the fact that the space reminds us of that time gives us that relaxing and longing feeling of nostalgia. And then the Langoliers, the guaridans of Time come and eat it up.
I thought exactly the same .
It is one of my fav stephen King movie, because the Feeling i got when watching the mostly not yet filled spaces , was a very peaceful , spine tickling Feeling.
The Moment the present matches up with the liminal space made me tear up but i Was still longing for them albeit them being not yet filled , abandoned or forgotten .
I'd like to just say that this is a masterpiece. The emotional connection, the effort, the video clips, the research, the editing. It's amazing. Thank you for making this : )
This was so beautiful
I’m not sure how I feel about liminal spaces, they’re both comforting and unsettling to me, honestly sometimes I think to myself “yknow these backrooms spaces look kinda cool I wouldn’t mind living here for a bit”. It’s cool to see a video exploring the comforting side of liminal spaces. Probably the weirdest thing liminal spaces do for me is make me lose my appetite and give me a weird smell/taste in my mouth kinda
My fiancée and myself wholeheartedly agree with you. We used to go on dates to liminal spaces type of locations because they reminded us of when we were in our early childhoods. It was the familiarity that felt comforting, with in turn made it romantic.
Another thing I’d like to say, which only applies to me, is that whenever I look at a photo of my grandparents backyard, I always curse myself for not enjoying being there more often. Now that the house is sold and that both of my grandparents are deceased, I will never get it back, and if I do, I’ll never be able to bring back the feeling of being there. My grandparents’ home was a liminal space in itself.
Edit: I’ve watched this 3 times already.
Gosh, your explanation of the emotions around this were spot on.
Thank you for putting this into words
Liminal spaces feel extremely relaxing and comforting to look at. I think the lack of people is a big part of that- peaceful and quiet without external stressors.
this past winter i lived by myself for the first time, and there were so many nights where i couldn't get to sleep. every time i would put my phone/e-reader down and close my eyes, the silence added to the knowledge i was completely alone in the building would press down on me so hard that i would feel the need to open my eyes and seek out more digital distraction. looking at photos of liminal spaces on tumblr and instagram ended up really helping me calm down that i could fall asleep, specifically pictures from inside very old motels that don't exist anymore.
thanks for this video
This video brings so much comfort to me dude
Especially the last part
I love that video man, amazing work!! 10/10
I fucking love your explanation at the end, perfectly sums up the psychological effect of liminal spaces. I can more than relate cuz my mental health is withered right now and liminal spaces help me escape for a moment. Well done video
I think the term "liminal space" is a misnomer, "kenopsia" seems more accurate. For me, it tends to be a specific type of loneliness where you just want to embrace the moment. It is interesting that a lot of media that evokes this feeling does not just include abandoned structures but also dream-like and reality-defying weirdness. It seems worth noting that complete isolation is not always entirely necessary, Yume Nikki features a plethora of monsters and humanoids yet mostly maintains the feeling despite it, perhaps the feeling is more related to mental isolation than physical isolation.
I gotta say this was an amazingly beautiful and peaceful video
Wow, this video really hit home. Nice video man 👍
I'm so glad someone else understands how nice and quiet liminal spaces seem. I feel silence when I look at them, and that's not something anyone gets very often these days. I seek out stimulus because of my mental health struggles, but I also crave the stagnant silence that these pictures offer. I would genuinely put up a lot of liminal space pictures in my house if I had the ability. I don't know how else to explain it other than silence and calm. I feel alone when I'm around people, and imagining myself in these liminal spaces lets me feel that aloneness but comfortably.
The main reason why I love the Backrooms (I also like the horror, but that is not the main reason as the Backrooms already got ruined because of videos like 'huggy wuggy and the impostor from among us in the backrooms' lol') is because it gives a sense of calmness, comfort, and curiosity. Some levels are just beautiful. When I see them all I want is to get lost in the Backrooms and never come back, forgetting all my worries. Actually, It's getting very common for to me start derealizating.
i feel like you romanticize fnaf
Yeah same. The backrooms has never been scary to me. The appeal of it, in my mind, is not the horror or the potential for horror, but rather the awe it inspires in me. The desire to explore, survive, and experience such a surreal and unique place, away from people, where I can have some time to think for myself.
@@sphinky1156people have been doing since 2014
@@NylonGenesis same, the poolrooms is a level i wouldn’t mind being stuck in for eternity
@@NylonGenesis like check out jared pike’s poolrooms or matt studios, its so calm and peaceful feeling
I love your editing style especially at the start
very well put together brother! thank you for sharing this experience.
Those images are weirdly motivating to me. People say I got a weird taste, but I love taking photos of those empty places at night. Wandering around those places and taking pictures of them makes me feel burden away from the cruel reality we're living in. It helps me ease from fear of my life and escape from thoughts at least for a short period of time.
The picture at 5:40 feels like what you see a couple of minutes after waking up from a long nap or deep sleep. You are in your own home but you kind of forget where you are, what you are. it takes a few minutes to process where you are right after waking up from a deep sleep.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO AND THE AWARENESS OF LIMINAL SPACES! Since the onset of old age I have visited channels on UA-cam that would explore shopping malls. Some were still active malls and others were diminishing or preparing to be closed and gone forever. I did this for the sake of nostalgia and memories as when I was younger, as many others did, I spent a lot of time there either shopping or just walking around. It was a nice way to temporarily escape the knowledge of my growing limited position on the road of life and in my mind at least go back there for mental refreshment!
The cinamatography is so amazing!