
Art Basel Parcours 2025
St. Clara Church, Basel
16 – 22 June 2025
Selma Selman’s installation comprises seven vertically positioned Mercedes hoods set in the sanctuary of St. Clara Church. Born into a Roma community in Bosnia, Selman draws from her family’s history and experience of collecting and recycling scrap metal. The upright car hoods resemble sculptural graves, referencing the Central-Eastern European and Balkan tradition of honoring the dead by depicting them with objects they cherished in life. Her installation addresses both stereotypes and stories at the risk of erasure. The Mercedes car hoods appear in this context as much a status symbol as a token of remembrance.
The featured car hoods are painted with images of a woman, possibly self-portraits. Others are inscribed with letters addressed “Dear Omer,” a fictional male character to which the artist writes poetic confessions that reveal both her vulnerability and strength, as well as the permanent battles she keeps on fighting. The installation is accompanied by the smell of gasoline and a soundscape. Installed in the altar of the church, Selman’s industrial, salvaged relics appear as personal memorials, juxtaposing the sacred and the profane. Rituals of personal grief and commemoration are here turned into a site for collective reflection.

Selma Selman, Vale, 2025; Installation view of Art Basel Parcours, St. Clara Church, Basel, 2025




