Words by Tamsin Cunningham

Photographs by Johnny Saint Ours

One of the things that makes the Tayos Cave such an extraordinary place to explore and experience is the method by which it must be entered. Unlike caves which can be walked or climbed into, step by step, the depths of Tayos can only be reached by crossing into a void. Between the life of the rainforest above and the world of the cave below lies this in-between; 65m of liminality to be traversed alone, suspended in space. It is this liminal void that gives the place its power and the transformational experiences it offers potency.

In our day to day lives occupation of a state of liminality is one we seldom grant ourselves. The experience of being, feeling or thinking neither one thing or another; of existing in a state of both uncertainty and possibility is often actively discouraged by a culture that places a premium on immediate reaction and decisive strategy. We are encouraged to compress the space of time between cause and effect, to keep on moving. Time spent without a tangible outcome is condemned as a waste. Those who admit to not knowing are castigated. But in denying the liminal we narrow the space of possibility and re-imagination. If we only ever allow ourselves space for immediate action, those actions always risk being merely variations on the preexisting, habitual and familiar.

As we collectively re-imagine a future that we know must look different from our present and our past, we need to permit ourselves time in the unknown. We need to learn new habits of liminality. The space between the thresholds is where new possibility is seeded. In the void is where transformation begins.