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Johan Thurfjell’s piece Liminal (2023) consists of a constructed doorway obscured by a blue banner. From underneath the curtain, a pair of shoes poke out giving the impression of someone standing right behind the veil. Printed on the curtain, a dreamlike smoke wafts across a moonlit sky.

 

Thurfjell created Liminal as a reflection of his father’s ongoing dementia. The piece symbolizes the experience as his father’s lucidity faded, the mind simultaneously both present and leaving for another realm. The fabric veil used is inspired by noren, a Japanese style of curtain commonly used in shops and restaurants. Noren often use the same shade of blue or indigo as used in the piece and represent division between inside and outside or purpose of different rooms. In Liminal, the curtains represent the border between the conscious world and the land where the mind fades. The doorframe and shoes represent the threshold between the two dimensions. The moonlight and smoke are indicative of cultural symbolism of the moon casting illusions and shaping dreams. The particular shade of blue used may also be a reference to Thurfjell’s other works on Japanese folklore. The hour before dusk when everything is bathed in blue is considered when reality and the spirit world cross over in Japanese myth, a concept similar to the witching hour or Sweden’s own vargtimmen.

 

Another common motif of Thurfjell’s art is the combination of sculpture, technology, and traditional stagecraft. In Liminal, Thurfjell programmed a mechanism to move the shoes in a subtle but unexpected pattern. Sometimes the movement is a light shift in the direction of a foot. Other times, one of the feet may abruptly lift and tap the ground. The goal is to surprise viewers. If the onlooker averts their eyes, they may return to the piece noticing the sculpture is in a different position. If one stares at the piece too long, they may expect it to be still like most sculptures in a museum. Suddenly, they see the shoe tap against the ground, unable to prove the moment to a friend who wasn’t paying attention. Just as the figure behind the curtain exists between reality and dreams, the viewer may question what happened and if their own memory can be relied on.