Shelby Galik

Artist Statement

“Liminal” is a term that defines the threshold where reality meets unreality or a state of transition that occupies the space between here and there. While these liminal spaces can be physical, I was interested in visually exploring the mental and emotional thresholds that I have been dealing with during the pandemic. States between action and inaction, freedom and constraint, and the shift from one identity to another are some of the focal points of the work. Due to liminality being an intangible and metaphorical concept, I played with figurative imagery such as flower language and animal symbolism as well as relied on intuition to tell me what felt right about depicting such abstract ideas. With these pieces, I hope to visually portray intangible points of transition that challenge the viewer to consider the liminal thresholds in their own lives and what it means to exist within those spaces.