LIMINAL SPACE
This Mixed Reality experience evolved from a series of drawings (POSTCARDS) done in transitory spaces like waiting for the bus, or on the train. They were a way of appreciating the beauty in liminal moments and made apparent how pervasive technology can be in numbing our senses and avoiding the real world.
One of the easiest and most comfortable escapes from reality is through technology. Whether that is through your phone, laptop, or a VR headset, it is often very addictive, sucking you in and numbing you more than you intended. However, with how immersive and affecting VR can be, it is a great tool through which to portray this concept, along with its emotions. The technology allows you to create a separate world, disconnected from the internet, with nothing addictive holding you there, simply a sense of waiting and external mindless existence into which you can momentarily escape and find a strange sense of peace and perspective.
This experience takes you on a surrealistic journey with no end, holding you in this liminal space, a purgatory, a temporary escape from the real world. The dreamlike space itself is reminiscent of surrealist paintings by Dali, with large looming sculptures derived from the ‘Postcard’ drawings.
While on the eternal train that drives you through this landscape, you can choose for yourself how much of reality you want to avoid by controlling the world with where your hands are positioned. This liminal space allows you to create your own version of reality and decide to what extent you want to escape.
A further sensory dimension you have control over with the positioning of your hands is the audio. You can choose how much of the real world to hear, and how much of the virtual liminal world. Using recordings made over time in these transitory moments, the audio track for the experience compiles background chatter and everyday sounds, some things repeated, and some momentary, to create an ever-present cacophony of noises that somehow feels monotonous, lulling you into this existence.
Please contact me to try it out for yourself
Review by a panel member of the IEEE VR conference 2026:
While many XR works focus on the future or past, this piece offers a necessary critique of the "Digital Now"—the state of constant connectivity and distraction. It effectively uses the medium of XR to critique the medium itself, exploring the tension between digital escapism and physical presence. This self-reflective approach is a good thematic fit for an art-science gallery.
The project presents a conceptually original approach to Mixed Reality. Rather than using MR to simply overlay data onto the world, it uses the "Passthrough" feature as a narrative device for psychological filtering. The core interaction - using vertical hand height to physically "lift the veil" of the virtual world - is a powerful, embodied metaphor for attention. While the mechanic itself is simple, its application as a tool for "meditating on presence" is a fresh take on the capabilities of modern headsets.
The video is clear and successfully demonstrates the user experience. The visual transition from the "sketchy" virtual train to the real-world environment (the living room in the demo) is shown without ambiguity. The video effectively captures the specific aesthetic mood - the chromatic aberration and line-art style - which helps the reviewer understand the intended "dreamlike" atmosphere.
The technical impact here is driven by Interaction Design rather than algorithmic complexity. Unlike heavy computational projects, this work focuses on the seamless blending of realities. The implementation of real-time opacity and audio mixing driven by gestural height is a solid, effective use of the Meta Quest 3’s Passthrough SDK. It demonstrates how standard XR features can be repurposed for expressive storytelling.
The visual language is commendable and distinct. The choice of a black-and-white, "sketchy" shader with chromatic aberration (RGB splitting) creates a compelling "lo-fi" aesthetic that feels like a fading memory. This stark contrast between the flat, monochromatic virtual world and the full-colour real world enhances the conceptual dichotomy of "escape vs. reality." It is an elegant, minimalist aesthetic that will stand out amidst noisier, more colourful exhibits.
The project appears highly feasible and low-risk for gallery organisers. The "seated or standing" nature of the experience makes it easy to accommodate in a gallery space.
Liminal Moments (2025)
Liminal Moments was the first iteration of this piece shown publicly, before slight changes were made to create Liminal Space, a simpler, more affecting experience in my opinion.
Liminal Moments (2025), while on exhibit as part of the Alternasia Exhibition at The Good Rice Gallery, London.
