In Between Lines
by Saina Baekhtiyar
by Saina Baekhtiyar
In Between Lines is a participatory performance that explores identity as a fluid, layered, and relational process—formed through mirrored interaction, perception, and mutual reflection. Two participants stand face-to-face, separated by a transparent glass pane, and simultaneously draw each other’s faces onto the surface. This quiet, intimate act transforms the glass into a liminal threshold: at once a divider and a connector, both barrier and bridge.
The mirrored act of drawing creates overlapping portraits that metaphorically blend perspectives. The glass becomes more than a surface—it is a site of negotiation, a shared space where roles continuously shift between observer and observed, subject and object. Through this co-created gesture, In Between Lines makes visible the invisible yet persistent boundaries—cultural, social, psychological—that shape how we perceive ourselves and one another.
Informed by Richard Schechner’s concept of restored behavior, the act of drawing is not simply performative, but a re-enactment of culturally encoded gestures—found in acts of portraiture, care, self-presentation, and emotional intimacy. These gestures are repeated and reframed in the performance, creating a living archive of memory, touch, and encounter. Each participant’s drawing embodies echoes of previous ones, making the moment simultaneously personal and collective, improvised and inherited.
The performance also draws on Victor Turner’s theory of liminality—a transitional state in which social roles dissolve and transformation becomes possible. The transparent glass functions as a threshold, suspending participants in a state of ambiguity and openness. Within this space, identities are no longer fixed; they are held in flux, shaped between gazes and gestures. The shared vulnerability gives rise to a fleeting sense of communitas, where individuals meet in social equality, suspended from hierarchy, and united in the intimacy of mutual depiction.
As people move across cities, cultures, and shifting social contexts, their identities adapt, merge, and evolve. In Between Lines becomes a space for exploring these transitions—an embodiment of the “in-between,” where identity is not fixed, but always in motion, shaped through contact and exchange. Here, identity is revealed as a dynamic, co-created fabric—existing not in isolation, but in the shared space between bodies, lines, memories, and time.
