Liminal Space

Abstract

''Liminal Space'' explores my artistic practice, while putting an emphasis on the subconscious mind. Working with the unconscious, sketching automatically or without any prior ideas in mind, can be seen as a liminal time, a space between the ‘what was’ and ‘what is about to come next’: a place of transition, waiting, and the unknown. The thesis questions and analyzes recurring themes in my works – such as cold color choices, surrealistic imagery and dark atmosphere – while giving examples of my projects, which for the most part are digital paintings. Importance of expressing oneself through practice of arts is mentioned, as well as how it can become a therapeutic escapism or a healthy distraction from everyday life. By trying to rationalize the automatic aspect of creating, the thesis looks for connections between the conscious and the unconscious. It dives into the dream realm, mentioning the practice of lucid dreaming, as well as finding correlations between dreams and the digital world. Some of the artists mentioned in the thesis are Jack Coulter, Salvador Dalí and Zdzisław Beksiński, where I ponder about their influences on my personal practice. Chapters in the thesis are closely related to one another, as each mentions subconsciousness and its effects on artistic practice, though they take different approaches in doing so. The thesis explores the subconscious mind by bringing up synesthesia, sleep, meditation and automatism. Furthermore, this paper talks about struggles of comparison, when one’s work resembles another artist more than one would like to, and how to deal with such realizations.