The whole world seems to exist these days in a liminal space. Liminal space is a time between what was and what’s next. Moments of transition, waiting but not knowing the future. All transformations take place within liminal space, but we don’t know what’s next, what the future holds for us who are there. We must be patient, allowing ourselves to be transformed in this time. Allow things to move forward, let go of what was; the past is history lost forever. And while what’s next may look like the old world, it cannot and should not be what was; transformation cannot allow that.
This project was morning in that liminal space, that moment of transition. Back in March 2020, as things ground to a halt, everyone found their world turned upside down. No one had experienced a global pandemic or knew what to expect. What started as days turned to weeks, then months and now years. And that initial project never got off the ground as things shifted rapidly—that window to capture Sheridan’s campus in this new liminal space closed. And the pandemic spread, waves and numbers crashed through our daily lives. Vaccines came and only highlighted the deep inequalities we could before ignore. And while we had now a fighting chance, the pandemic was not done with us. And in December 2021, it seemed we were almost back to square one, back to March 2020. I found myself back on an almost empty campus. The time was now.
The original plan for this project called for traditional film, Ilford FP4+ or Fuji Acros 100 II, using my Mamiya m645 as the camera. But as I returned, I thought to get the aesthetic I looked for; film may not be the best medium. A medium format camera on a tripod attracts a lot of attention takes a lot of effort. But what about my D750? That was a tool I didn’t have in March 2020; paired with the beautiful Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G lens would be the perfect fit. I could shoot handheld, bump up the ISO to allow that, and then wander the campus. I purposefully chose to do these shots early in the morning, usually between six and seven, when there were few people on site. Then visited almost every wing, office, classroom, and hall.
These spaces should be bustling with staff students, a certain buzz that hasn’t been here since 2020. It feels both lonely and nostalgic at the same time. Often I felt like I was back in the abandoned buildings that I used to frequent and first started to get that sense of liminal space. And you know, in the end, I’m happy with my results, and these were all captured within a workweek, only five days. You can find all the images over on Flickr.