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About light on liminal spaces

There is something about the lighting of some places that makes us turn up our noses, causes us an instant and alienating feeling of uneasiness. It happens when, for example, we look at an image of a completely empty hospital corridor, faintly illuminated by fluorescent panels.



Italso happens when we look at a gas station, immersed in a dense fog and abandoned in the middle of a provincial road, lit only by the ethereal light of a street lamp.



We speak, in these cases, of liminal spaces, that is, places of transit and connection (from the Latin “limen,” border), usually devoid of subjects that generate in the observer a sense of uncanny, nostalgia and melancholy.


Liminal spaces, real or imaginary, have always existed but, thanks to the advent of the Internet and artificial intelligences, a literature on the subject has developed only in the last two decades. Some studies argue that liminal spaces are alienating in that they are familiar places lacking something that generally characterizes them positively, such as the absence of individuals or serene and pleasant light.

An excellent and comprehensive definition of liminal spaces is provided to us by philosopher Peter Heft when he says that a sense of uncanny can be felt when an individual witnesses a situation in a different context than he or she expects. Thus a large, festively lit shopping mall or a colorful circus pavilion become disturbing when photographed empty or lit in a nonconforming manner.



Specifically defining the typical lighting of a liminal space is very difficult because a whole series of subjective values are called into play and related to everyone's perception of the things they see. However, we can try to paint a picture made up of recurring lighting scenes when it comes to liminal spaces.

There is, for example, a reason why in large airport areas, transit spaces par excellence, rows of recessed ceiling fixtures deputed to provide aseptic and neutral lighting that ends up appearing monotonous and alienating are insistently repeated.



Think of an empty terminal late at night: the large spaces, the large windows that allow only the darkness of the night to filter in, the silence of white or gray walls, all lit by cold service lights. They are necessary lights, of course, but nothing more. At times, indeed, it almost seems as if we are dealing with a light that is born with the intention of soothing and ends up disturbing. The serial repetition, the ever-changing

rhythm, the monotony are characters that make a light or a system of lights particularly akin to the characteristics of liminal spaces. And so, in addition to airports, we think of the long corridors of a hotel dotted with sconces all the same (made iconic of liminal spaces by some famous films in cinema), the passage tunnels of underground subways, multi-story parking lots, and so on.

Liminal spaces are not just eerily lit passageways. Many times they are - as we have seen - familiar places cloaked in an aura of mystery, melancholy and nostalgia. Think, for example, of a glimpse of a playground, dimly lit but nonetheless evocative of happy and joyful times.



Or let's imagine a view of a bathing establishment in winter, obscured by fog and enriched only by the lampara lights of the sea or the occasional light from a fishing boat in the distance.



It is in this case the contrasts that make the scene liminal, creating a kind of short-circuit in our mind, lazily accustomed to the standards it has built up over time. We note in this case that not only artificial lights but also natural ones, when combined with a particular time of day and certain architecture, help define a liminal space.


We therefore deduce that the lighting of a scene is a key factor in investing the scene itself with psychological meanings, as are, of course, the architecture, colors and many other features. Generating lighting scenes that are consistent with the surroundings and with the expectations of those who inhabit the spaces is the task of us lighting designers, but sometimes, while respecting all the criteria of good lighting and pursuing a clear concept, it is inevitable to run into distorted and alienating effects generated by the depths of our minds.

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