Liminal Spaces

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Project by Schuberth and Schuberth
Thanks to Ievgenii Kalinovych, Kyrylo Tarasyuk, Victoria Pichler, Moira Mandic and Lisa Kröll (speaking voice)
January 2025 – April 2025

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"Liminal spaces" refer to transitional places or states that lie between two clearly defined states or spaces. These can be physical, such as hallways, stairwells, and passageways, which are often experienced as uncanny or surreal. They can also be metaphorical, representing phases of change and transformation, for example, when an object loses its function (e.g., an empty indoor swimming pool) or when a person's status is in flux.

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Given the abundance of examples in popular media, one could also speak of a liminal aesthetic, a chic that is currently in vogue. What lies behind it? Why is this in-between state both unsettling and appealing?

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We explore this puzzle in the rooms of a former porter's apartment, a place that is itself somewhat liminal. It is only logical that such an exhibition is constantly changing, that the closing event is different from the opening.

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Among the exhibits is a time machine inspired by Dan Graham, no-longer-and-not-yet images by architectural photographer Margherita Spiluttini, a "liminal cinema" featuring the silent film classic "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", the computer game "2:22 AM", and a cake installation as a faded childhood memory.