Gropius Bau

Beginning 11 November 2023, the Gropius Bau presents her0, a presentation by visual artist Selma Selman. At its core lies the development of her performance Motherboards (2023–ongoing), in which Selman and members of her family dismantle electronic waste. Challenging oversimplified and racialised narratives, the performance offers palpable insights into dynamics of power around the notion of sustainability. Pairing the outcomes and remnants of this performance with a variety of existing and new works, her0 serves as a current overview of the artist’s audacious approach, spanning performance, painting, photography, video and multidisciplinary collaboration.

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.

Curated by Zippora Elders with the assistance of Monique Machicao y Priemer Ferrufino and Elisa Maria Schmitt