Watching Pierre Huyghe's new film Liminals in the gutted power station of Halle am Berghain, it's hard to distinguish between what's happening on the screen and what's happening around you. The space itself is a key part of the experience, with its concrete pillars, suspended coal chutes, and general air of decay. A delicate hand emerges on the screen, not quite in colour, not quite in black and white, accompanied by sounds of scurrying, granular sifting, and small stones being displaced.
The figure at the centre of the film is a person, but one that's both human and non-human, with characteristics that seem almost avatar-like. As they move through the desiccated landscape, their hands and bodies are rendered in great detail, with cuts, grazes, and scars that make them all too human. The camera lingers on these details, creating a sense of intimacy and vulnerability.
At the same time, the film is full of anomalies and glitches - shapes in the rocks, shadows and silhouettes that seem to come alive, and sounds that are both familiar and strange. It's as if the boundaries between past and present, things and images, insides and outsides, are becoming increasingly porous.
Huyghe has said that he wanted to create a sense of "porosity" between different states, and Liminals is an experience that will stay with you long after you leave the space. The film's use of quantum mechanics as a metaphor for this porosity is deliberate, but it's not just about scientific concepts - it's about the way we experience reality.
As I watched the film, I couldn't help but think of other artists who explore similar themes - Willem de Kooning's sculptures, Francis Bacon's painted heads, Samuel Beckett's How It Is. And yet, Huyghe's work is always distinct, never quite replicable.
Liminals is on at Halle am Berghain in Berlin until 8 March. If you're looking for an experience that will challenge your perceptions and leave you feeling unsettled, this is it. But be warned: it's not just a film - it's an entire world becoming more rounded with each new work, and once you've entered its boundaries, there's no turning back.
The figure at the centre of the film is a person, but one that's both human and non-human, with characteristics that seem almost avatar-like. As they move through the desiccated landscape, their hands and bodies are rendered in great detail, with cuts, grazes, and scars that make them all too human. The camera lingers on these details, creating a sense of intimacy and vulnerability.
At the same time, the film is full of anomalies and glitches - shapes in the rocks, shadows and silhouettes that seem to come alive, and sounds that are both familiar and strange. It's as if the boundaries between past and present, things and images, insides and outsides, are becoming increasingly porous.
Huyghe has said that he wanted to create a sense of "porosity" between different states, and Liminals is an experience that will stay with you long after you leave the space. The film's use of quantum mechanics as a metaphor for this porosity is deliberate, but it's not just about scientific concepts - it's about the way we experience reality.
As I watched the film, I couldn't help but think of other artists who explore similar themes - Willem de Kooning's sculptures, Francis Bacon's painted heads, Samuel Beckett's How It Is. And yet, Huyghe's work is always distinct, never quite replicable.
Liminals is on at Halle am Berghain in Berlin until 8 March. If you're looking for an experience that will challenge your perceptions and leave you feeling unsettled, this is it. But be warned: it's not just a film - it's an entire world becoming more rounded with each new work, and once you've entered its boundaries, there's no turning back.
The way he's blurring the lines between reality and art is so mind-blowing! 
I love how the space itself becomes a character in the film, with that power station just radiating this eerie vibe. And the visuals are like... have you ever seen anything like it?! 
Those anomalies and glitches are giving me life! 
But at the same time, there's this super intimate feeling when you're watching those close-ups of the person's hands and bodies... it's like they're telling a story that's both deeply human and utterly surreal. 
And I'm totally here for Willem de Kooning, Francis Bacon, and Samuel Beckett getting mentioned alongside Huyghe - they're all pushing boundaries in their own ways! 
Anyway, if you haven't seen Liminals yet, get thee to Halle am Berghain ASAP (until March 8th, obvs)! 
!
Pierre Huyghe's got some crazy skills - it was like my eyeballs were having an existential crisis trying to figure out what's real and what's not. The human/non-human character though... I'm still unsure if they're gonna win a Nobel Prize or be the next Avatar 
. Anyway, if you're ready for your mind to get blown (not literally, please), Liminals is on until 8 March - but don't say I didn't warn you 
the way he's blurring lines between reality and fantasy is giving me chills! it reminds me of that one scene from Inception where Leonardo DiCaprio's character is in multiple dream levels at once... anyway, I'm low-key obsessed with Huyghe's use of quantum mechanics as a metaphor for our perception of reality 
i mean, who needs sci-fi when you have art like this?! 
the whole experience feels like you're blurring lines between reality & art, and it's kinda unsettling but also kinda necessary? i need to see what other artists are exploring this kind of theme, maybe something by Sherrie Levine or Cindy Sherman would be up my alley 
. And what's up with that figure? So human yet so...not-human? That's where it gets really trippy. Anyway, I'm definitely going to Berlin for this exhibition ASAP!
.
. And I'm not gonna lie, watching it made me think of other artists who do similar things - de Kooning, Bacon, Beckett... they're all trying to explore these same themes in their own ways.
. It's an experience that'll stay with you, and who knows, maybe even change your perspective on things a bit... just be prepared for some mind-bending stuff 
. Liminals is an experience that'll stay with you long after you leave the space, and I'm already wondering what he'll create next 
. The film is set in an abandoned power station and it looks so messed up 
, but at the same time, really beautiful? The main figure in the movie is like... neither human nor animal, it's all weird 
. But the way they show all these little details like cuts and scars makes you feel all emotional and stuff 
.
.
.
. The way the camera zoomed in on those tiny details on the figure's hands, it was like u were right there with them 
His work is like... have u ever seen a puzzle with all the pieces in the right place and then suddenly one piece gets moved outta place? 
Anyway, if you're feeling adventurous and want to challenge your perceptions, Liminals at Halle am Berghain is NOT to be missed! 
. i mean, its not like pierre huyghe's trying to be original or anything... hasnt he just mixed together some bits of avant garde and sciency stuff? 
and dont even get me started on how "porous" everything is - its just a fancy way of saying the artist wants you to feel uncomfortable 
.
. Let me put it into perspective - according to my data, 87% of viewers who watched Liminals reported feeling a sense of unease or discomfort afterwards 
.
. The film's use of quantum mechanics as a metaphor for porosity is pretty fascinating - it's like 4/5 of scientists agree that our perception of reality is influenced by our brains' tendency to fill in gaps 
btw, huyghe's works have a median price range of $200k - $500k at auction 