Natalia Czarcińska’s exhibition, Different Varieties of Uncertainty, is certainly not (!) a collection of works – it is a structure constituting a unity. Indeed, this whole has been assembled from many larger, smaller, and even tiny elements, but it is inseparable, like a single organism that requires many parts to exist. Stepping into the gallery, we enter this precisely constructed structure. Right from the threshold. The artist invites us, as it were, into the work. She allows us to see it in its entirety, and even more – we can feel our presence within the intricate construction. Therefore, we will not find captions for individual elements, for example, for the elongated shelf-like paintings, whose edges not only frame the canvas but also serve to display various artifacts, trinkets of varying provenance – both precious and merely temporary; treasures and fragments that attracted attention due to the circumstances or the place of discovery, or because of their association, origins, or, finally, their unique color… This entire collection, shrouded in sentiment and memories, besides its beauty inherent to memorabilia, serves as certain stage directions for the exhibition, as well as poetic footnotes to the paintings…
The artist’s way of thinking about the exhibition itself, about building and filling the space, is as important as the individual elements of the structure being created. As she herself says, “It’s not just an arrangement, but a kind of declaration.” This strategy allows us to find ourselves at the center of this almost ubiquitous story.
Natalia Czarcińska once again builds her blue universe, presenting paintings and the personal archive intertwined with them within a maritime setting that is close to her heart. It is not the first time she uses subtle nautical metaphors, and yet this time, it is not a story about vast seas and the desire to sail. For years, she has been fascinated by navigation and eagerly references it, just as she finds nautical charts and signal codes inspiring. However, these are more graphic symbols or keywords, literary references that, on dry land, are at best signs of a longing for something more predictable, though not entirely so. Evoking concepts from the world of sea travel is an attempt to “tame” everyday uncertainty through the precision and constancy attributed, for example, to pilotage, which, as a set of regulations and rules of conduct at sea, provides the illusion of safety. It also evokes a sentiment for navigation as a field based on mathematical calculations that save sailors and, one would like, are equally effective in everyday existence, where navigation remains a valuable metaphor for overcoming difficulties.
The artist reflects on the titular varieties of uncertainty – various – that evoke anxiety, but are also essential for conscious living, asking questions, and finding one’s way. Paradoxically, this unsteady footing, questioning the status quo, and the fact that one does not know the ending of the story one is participating in also have their positive sides. Uncertainty is inherent in life – it is an open-ended state, because before certainty emerges, much can happen and change. Uncertainty carries within it a hope that certainty may no longer offer. Therefore, it is not just instability or fear, it is also a rarely appreciated potential.