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for Mercedes Benz
© Selma Selman/Bildupphovsrätt 2024
Mercedes Benz
by Selma Selman
Artist
Selma Selman
(Bosnien och Hercegovina, född 1991)
Date2023
MediumOil paint on metal (parts of a Mercedes-Benz)
Dimensions300 x 400 cm (6 parts)
ClassificationInstallations, Sculptures
Credit LinePurchase 2023 funded by The Anna-Stina Malmborg and Gunnar Höglund Foundation
with contribution from Selma and Rutger Nordström
Countries
On view
StockholmRoomCorridor floor 4
Object NumberMOM/2023/65
About the artwork
Selma Selman’s altar-like work is painted on dismantled
parts of a Mercedes car. Organic forms on the
shiny surface resemble dismembered bodies, with
their spidery limbs and blank eyes. An uncomfortable
feeling arises in the encounter between soft flesh and
the hard metal of the automobile. As a young Bosnian
woman artist of Romani heritage, Selman both
embraces and undermines stereotypes about Roma
people. The elements used in this work relate to her
family’s struggle for survival. Her father collected
and sold car parts to provide for his family. Selman’s
practice is based on a long tradition of critical and
political art in former Yugoslavia. She works in several
media apart from drawing and painting, such as
performance, video and photography.