Kitchen Conversations is a platform to share and hear stories from contemporary Eastern European artists. Creator of the podcast, Patrycja Rozwora, discovers her guests through various channels; exhibitions, festivals, social media, word hear and more. The work of Selma Selman was first encountered by Patrycja back in 2020 at the group show “From What Will We Reassemble Ourselves” organised in Framer Framed in Amsterdam. In May 2022, Patrycja visited the Rijksakademie Open Day where, as it turned out, Selma was just finalising her first year of the residency program. Finding time in the midst of busy schedules the two of them finally managed to meet in Berlin and record a podcast together.
Selma Selman is a multidisciplinary artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina and of Romani descent. Before moving to Amsterdam in order to join the prestigious Rijksakademie residency program, Selma was based between Bihac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and New York. On the podcast, Selma shares stories of her past and sheds light onto her artistic and activist practice which that aims to protect and empower female bodies and enact a cross-scalar approach to collective self-emancipation of oppressed women and ethnic minorities.
One of the main materials that comes back in Selma’s paintings, performances and installations is metal. Due to the ongoing economic crises of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is incredibly difficult to organise an adequate income, especially for Roma people due to the lack of education and ongoing discrimination. Thus, one of the main occupations of Roma communities is collecting and selling scrap metal. Raised in a family specialising in metal, now as an artist Selma transcends the value of the material and the stereotypes attached to the labour of collecting it.
Her performances ‘Platinum’ and ‘Mercedes Matrix’ showcase whole pieces of cars in a gallery setting and reenact the art of disassembling a car in search of valuable materials. Her works are powerful, often physical gestures that apart from telling a personal story of family and community, also comment on aspects of failed capitalist reality and environmental human failures.
Traditionally, the podcast concludes by talking about favourite foods from home. Selma closes the conversation by sharing her beloved Bosnian Coffee with Sweets, Čimbur and Burek.
Kitchen Conversations podcast is produced by artist Patrycja Rozwora (since May 2020). If you enjoy the content, you can support the project with a monthly donation of your choice via patreon.com/kitchenconversations.
