LIMINAL. LP RONDEAU

Liminal is an interactive installation by LP Rondeau that seeks to materialize the boundary between present and past through a play of light projections. It uses sound and a photographic technique known as slit-scan to stretch time into space.

Functioning as a portal of light, the piece features a large 2.75-meter-diameter ring that captures the image of visitors as they pass through it, projecting it in black and white onto a screen. Like a distorted mirror, the projected image continuously extends to the right before fading into the light. This creates a visual metaphor: the present is constantly replacing the past, which drifts inexorably into the white light at the far end of the screen. The installation emphasizes that light is the past—the glow we see in the night sky is merely a fleeting snapshot of the stars’ former appearance. Light is the manifestation of everything that has already happened.

The sound elements of the piece enhance its performative nature. As visitors interact within the ring’s two-dimensional space, their spatial position generates distinct sounds. The ambient soundscape—modulated white noise—responds to the visitor’s vertical location, and its intensity increases with their physical engagement inside the portal. The visitor’s body amplifies the musicality of the work, which can be “played” like an instrument, resembling a kind of theremin.

The result is an experience that is both playful and contemplative. Liminal has been presented in over 10 countries, featured in exhibitions such as ISEA, Ars Electronica, and BIAN, and is part of the permanent collection at Phaeno (Wolfsburg, Germany).

Recommended minimum age: 6 years.