cizucu Presents 'Liminal Space' | Challenge #362

'Liminal Space' is a global online photography contest organized by cizucu, open to all creators registered on cizucu. Outstanding works will be curated from the submissions, aiming to discover new talent as a platform and to support the community.

This edition's theme is ‘Uninhabited Spaces Bearing Traces of Human Presence’.

Liminal space refers to areas such as corridors, stairways, roads, or hotels—spaces encountered in transition or passage. Gaining attention as an internet meme around 2019, it has since spread as an aesthetic expressing the eeriness and nostalgia of deserted places.

Spaces emptied of people exude a quietness that feels slightly detached from reality. The ambiguous sensation of being 'in-between' is the allure of liminal spaces.
Empty hallways, shops after closing, train platforms awaiting the morning—though no one appears in the frame, the presence of someone lingers.

This contest welcomes not only a sense of unease, but also the nostalgia, tranquility, solitude, and comfort found within liminal atmospheres. Focusing on the expansiveness of space may enhance the impact, but above all, we encourage you to submit works that reflect your unique sensibility.

つばさ製作所

cizucu Editorial Team
The entrance to this deserted station feels severed from daily life, like a forgotten stage. Although there is a hint of brightness outside in the distance, the darkness in the foreground and the descending escalator evoke the sense of an entrance to another time. Despite being a space meant for people to pass through, the absence of anyone leaves only the afterimage of the city.

Tsabu

cizucu Editorial Team
From this sunlit room, you can sense the lingering presence of someone who was just here. The desks and chairs are neatly arranged, yet within their placement, the directions of conversations, bodily movements, and the traces left after someone stood up remain. The absence of people quietly brings forth the accumulation of time in this space.

あお🐐

cizucu Editorial Team
The sheer scale of this open space, devoid of a single person, makes its tangible reality seem diminished. In a place where footsteps or the bustle of activity would normally echo, only the architecture remains in silence. The magnitude of this absence evokes an uncanny sensation, as if this part of the city has been severed from reality.

Yahiro Takahashi

cizucu Editorial Team
In this building, traces of human life remain, yet the vitality of plants has begun to permeate. Doors, handrails, and corridors bear the passage of time used by people, now slowly being overtaken by vines. Even after human activity has receded, another form of life continues, leaving a subtly uncanny aftertaste within the brightness.

Kazuhiko Watanabe

cizucu Editorial Team
Although this is a familiar public space, the absence of human flow and bustle slightly distorts its meaning. The structures meant for people to walk, wait, and pass through remain, illuminated almost excessively. In this state, stripped of its usual context, one can sense a certain melancholy and even a comforting atmosphere.

mizuno takao

cizucu Editorial Team
The uniformly sized orange doors, arranged at regular intervals, evoke a strong sense of artificial repetition. Amid this orderly rhythm, the lone car placed in the back right subtly breaks the pattern. This irregularity imparts a mysterious sense of suspension to the entire space.

[Contest Period]
Saturday, May 16, 2026 – Monday, June 15, 2026

[Announcement of Selected Artists]
Around Friday, June 26, 2026

[Reward]
Free participation voucher for the cizucu 'photo poster project' (for 2 artists)

[How to Submit]
・Select the contest 'Liminal Space'
・Tap 'Agree to Submission Guidelines and Post'
・Select your content and submit your artwork

[Selection Criteria]
(1) Thematic Relevance: Does the work align with the stated mission?
(2) Subject Focus: Is the photographer's intent clearly conveyed?
(3) Expressiveness: Does the work demonstrate expressive power in perspective, composition, balance, focus, color, etc.?
(4) Timing: Has the decisive moment or timing of the subject been captured?
(5) Originality: Does the work show unique ingenuity in location, subject, or approach?