Selma Selman

Location

Amsterdam, NL

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Selma Selman (1991) is from Bosnia and Herzegovina and of Roma origin. In her practice, she strives to protect and enable female bodies and foster a multifaceted approach to the collective self-emancipation of oppressed women. Selman’s search for a pragmatic, contemporary form of political resistance stems from her own experiences of oppression of varied directions and scales. Selman is also the founder of the organization “Get the Heck to School”, which aims to empower Roma girls across the globe who face social ostracization and poverty.

For the forthcoming publication Playing Constant: The Only Constant Is Change, Selman contributed installation photographs. Playing Constant is a publication by Jap Sam Books in collaboration with Zippora Elders and Fondation Constant, reflecting on the Constant 101 project, due spring 2025.​​​​​​

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Selma Selman, Sleeping Guards, 2025, mixed media on paper, 12,2 x 20,5 cm (x30), installation view at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL), Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij

Description

Selma Selman, Sleeping Guards, 2025, mixed media on paper, 12,2 x 20,5 cm (x30), installation view at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL). Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij

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Selma Selman, Crossing the Blue Bridge, 2024, film, 28’18” installation view at Röda Sten Konsthall (SE), Photo: Hendrik Zeitler

Description

Selma Selman, Crossing the Blue Bridge, 2024, film, 28’18” installation view at Röda Sten Konsthall (SE). Photo: Hendrik Zeitler

Selman earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2014 from the Department of Painting at the University of Banja Luka. In 2018, she graduated from Syracuse University with a Master of Fine Arts in Transmedia, Visual, and Performing Arts.

Selman’s recent solo exhibitions took place at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2025); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2024); Röda Sten Konsthall, Gothenburg (2024); and Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin (2023). Her work was also included in documenta fifteen, Kassel (2022), and Manifesta 14, Priština (2022).

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Selma Selman, Motherboards, 2023 – ongoing, performance, 150’, performance documentation at KRASS Kultur Crash Festival, Hamburg (DE), Photo: Marko Ilić

Description

Selma Selman, Motherboards, 2023 – ongoing, performance, 150’, performance documentation at KRASS Kultur Crash Festival, Hamburg (DE). Photo: Marko Ilić

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Selma Selman, Ophelia’s Awakening, 2024, oil paint on Lotus Esprit ’78, Photo: Dávid Tóth

Description

Selma Selman, Ophelia’s Awakening, 2024, oil paint on Lotus Esprit ’78. Photo: Dávid Tóth