Strategies of Safety, 2020
It is a beautiful thing that Miriam-Webster dictionary defines safety not only as being free from harm, injury, or loss but also a state in which one is free from causing such things. Such a description may still be insufficient, but at least it is a nice one.
After all, safety is a complex construct, and, to be frank, it can be quite a messy business.
Even though it seems to be one of the most important needs of man, it is not an obvious thing. It depends on personal experience and held beliefs. It does not fit squarely into established definitions. It is entangled in all kinds of paradoxes and contradictions. People can adapt to their circumstances even if their situation is far from perfect and can see a danger in seemingly peaceful conditions. Places that should be safe havens can become little private hells, while the constant probability of a disaster can grow to be, if not a friend, then at least a good acquaintance.
This project began with being afraid.
It began with the yearning for the time when I felt truly safe.
There may not be an immediate danger here, but the fear is constant.
Intuitively, I turn to people every time. Community connectedness seems to be the key.
It is not only my own belief but, as it turns out, the subject of many studies.
Social capital may act as a buffer and compensate for a lack of control over the environment. Voluntary associations can mediate the relationship between perceived danger and subjective well-being.
It is a theory.
It can be a story.
I was already interested in the subject of safety and its many paradoxes when the global pandemic hit. Being stuck in the country I wanted to leave and surrounded by people not paying too much attention to the seriousness of the situations, I started to focus more on the thing that made me feel safe, or at least not as afraid as I felt most of the time. I also grew more and more interested in strategies other people apply in order to achieve the feeling of safety. I decided to invite some of my friends and colleagues to work with me on that subject. I asked them to talk with me about safety in a way that makes them feel most comfortable.
Due to its collaborative nature, the project is not a work of one but many. Each installment was created in a unique way depending on the relationship between its authors and their preferences regarding means of communication. My involvement in each part differed from person to person.
Available Strategies:
Hanna Kaszewska's Strategy of Repetition
Valeria Latorre's Theory of Openness
My Space - Marek Mardosewicz's Strategy of Finding One's Space
Marta Krysińska's Untitled Strategy
Jorge Suárez-Quiñones Rivas' Yet Untitled Strategy [WIP]
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The project was implemented under the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship program - Culture on the Internet.
It functioned as an online archive for about a year. I am currently rethinking the project and trying to make decisions about its future.