Living in the
in-between
Being in a liminal space as a bilingual or bicultural person can be very difficult. Self-confidence can often deplete as you feel like you are deficient in both languages, therefore scared to communicate with people. You can feel confused, experience considerable conflict and struggle to establish a clear identity.
Printed on transparent drafting paper, the publication portrays the organised mess of the two languages (Japanese and English) within my brain. Throughout the year, I collected words and grammatical mistakes I often make and compiled them into a clean, dictionary-like book. I wanted to portray that although my English and Japanese may not be perfect, it is okay to mess up or feel lost.
Bilingual people should instead embrace the beauty of this imperfection.
Designed and compiled by Manami Miyata, 2018