There are many different uses of the phrase ‘liminal space’ (liminal meaning threshold, which is generally a broad word).
It refers to a literal threshold between two places, which serves no real function (like the border on the canal between Leeds and the countryside or where the abandoned factories exist on the outskirts of Leeds at the dock). However, it can also refer to the threshold between life and death, a vale between our world and the next or even a turning point in life. For example, when you lose your everything any you are at a point when you don’t know where to go next. You have left your old comfort zone but cannot find any new answers.
All of the definitions to me refer to something which doesn’t really serve a function and is lost. This makes me associate a sort of negativity with the word. When exploring the liminal space on the canal between the city and the countryside I font that it did have quite an eerie nature to it. I felt very alone sitting there, in a space filled with remnants of what has been i.e. litter, things hanging from trees and old clothing left by people passing through. Even in the middle of the day the space sent a shiver through my spine.
Here are some texts, which I found on Reddit that speak about liminal space (I know it’s not a very reliable source but they sum it up beautifully):
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