Selma Selman

The drawings of Selma Selman from her series Superpositional Intersectionalism depict female characters that recall mythical and fictional creatures. At times autobiographical, at times filled with art historical references the drawings offer an insight into female genealogy. The artist started making drawings early in life during high school in the village of Bihac in Bosnia where she grew up. The drawings constitute an important body of work that accompanies and centers her practice. They are at once portraits of future creatures, remnants of forgotten female legacies as well as sketches for future paintings, films and performances.
The drawings, as well as her broader artistic practice, aim to protect and enable female bodies and enact a multidisciplinary approach to collective self-emancipation of oppressed women. Selma’s search for functional, contemporary political resistance stems from her personal experience with oppression from various directions and scales. In the artist’s words her artistic work: “alternates between sensitive, harsh and ironic gestures revealing discriminatory identity attributions, role expectations and stereotypes.”

Selma Selman currently lives and works in Amsterdam, after completing the Rijksakademie residency in 2021. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Banja Luka University’s Department of Painting and she graduated from Syracuse University with a Master of Fine Arts in Transmedia, Visual and Performing Arts. Recents solo exhibitions include: Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Röda Sten Konsthall, Göteborg,Gropius Bau, Berlin. She has been awarded the ABN AMRO Art Award in 2024.