Selma Selman: her0
Gropius Bau, Berlin
11 November 2023 – 14 January 2024

Selma Selman consciously calls herself an artist of Romani origin – instead of a Romani artist – and draws inspiration from a spectrum of personal and familial accounts, as well as collective identity and culture. Revolving around desire and self-determination, her practice dissects the boundaries and borders of identity, value creation, law and representation placed upon her, her family and her social surroundings.

On the occasion of the exhibition opening, Selma Selman has performed Motherboards, an ongoing performance in which she extracts gold from scrap metal with the support of Hajrula Selman, Muhamed Selman and Meho Husic. The resulting noise is turned into a musical composition in collaboration with DJ and producer Dauwd and cellist Boram Lie (Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop).

Gold, a material that sparks desire and destruction, is the aspired goal of the performance Motherboards (2023–ongoing). With support by family members, Selma Selman disassembles electronic waste and recycles the precious metal. By taking on her family’s economic operation, she emphasises the sustainability inherent in the often devalued labour of gleaning and recycling. Taking place at the Gropius Bau, the performance also references the historically appearing grandeur of the Gropius Bau’s building and the extractivist origins of its gold ornamentations. The performance also considers the creation of value in the art market, as the recovered gold is transformed into a sculpture – a golden nail. The generated noise of the performance will provide the foundation for a musical composition, referencing a wavelength in Berlin’s musical history that was influenced by industrial sounds.

Photo by Eike Walkenhorst