Liminality Art

Recently, in school I was given the opportunity to learn about liminality. I still do not fully understand it but from what I could grasp from it was a space in which you are suspended between two states, unsure of what is next. I, like many of my peers, related this topic back to the influences of American culture on foreign traditions.

Here is what I wrote:

Growing up being surrounded by a different culture than your own, and the oppression that involuntarily comes with the societal pressure to “fit in,” can affect the way you preserve your own tradition. Especially today, everyone is trying their best to be as far away from different as they can, not to stick out, and blend in with the crowd. This piece is inspired by my own personal struggles to fit in, while also trying not to stray away from the traditional values that made me unique in a white dominated society. The westernized and modern clothing covering the traditional Indian clothing highlights both the physical and perspective changes of which clothing is deemed suitable depending on your environmental influences. Even the symbolistic designs on every corner of the picture, and some even peering out of the maroon border that are predominantly distinguished in mehndi, embody’s how “culture,” is slowly moving farther and farther away from the girls in the picture.

But, times are changing. Though still present, Indian culture is not stereotyped as much as it used to be when I was young. It has started to become more recognized, along with respect. These days, I see my Indian peers wearing bindis and eating Indian food for lunch, things we all used to get criticized for. Not only is growing from mistakes done in the past important in situations like this, but it helps in recovering the lost confidence that will shape the future of multiculturalism, especially in America.