KOMENTAR | Selma Selman: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑁𝑜 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑎

𝐊𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑 | 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧: 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑵𝒐 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒂
𝟑. 𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥–𝟕. 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐣 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐌𝐮𝐳𝐞𝐣 𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐛𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐤𝐨𝐯𝐚 (+𝐌𝐒𝐔𝐌)

V razstavni seriji 𝐾𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟 v pritličnem razstavnem prostoru Muzeja sodobne umetnosti Metelkova tokrat predstavljamo performans umetnice in romske aktivistke 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑵𝒐 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒂 (𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒚) (2020).

🟢 V performansu, ki ga je izvedla že večkrat v različnih kontekstih, umetnica vztrajno kriče ponavlja naslovno frazo, nanašajoč se na njene identitetne okoliščine in na pogoje, ki botrujejo marginalizaciji njene večplastne identitete. Selman se pojavlja kot ženska, Rominja, umetnica, priseljenka v Nemčiji in ZDA. Njena presečna in hibridna identiteta se v performansu izpostavlja v odnosu do hegemonih struktur moči, ki jo sistematično potiskajo na rob in ji jemljejo enakopravnost. 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐤 »𝐍𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐣𝐦𝐚!« 𝐨𝐝𝐳𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐚 𝐤𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐳𝐧𝐢𝐜_𝐤𝐨𝐯, 𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐡 𝐳̌𝐢𝐯𝐥𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚 (𝐩𝐫𝐞)𝐩𝐨𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐦𝐥𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐤𝐨 𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚.

🟢 Ena ključnih uprizoritev performansa je nastala v kontekstu zaostrenih družbenopolitičnih razmer ob ameriških predsedniških volitvah leta 2020. Na dan volitev je Selman performans izvedla sredi Washingtona: med hojo po eni glavnih mestnih ulic je kričala mantro performansa in pritegnila pozornost mimoidočih in novinarjev, ki so poročali o volitvah in spremljajočem nemiru zaradi ogroženih delavskih, človekovih in reproduktivnih pravic. Delo Selme Selman danes močno odzvanja tudi v slovenskem kontekstu, zlasti v luči razširjene moralne panike in romofobije. Tragični dogodki, ki so se zgodili leta 2025 v Novem mestu, so spodbudili nestrpnost do romske manjšine v Sloveniji. Konkreten učinek slednjega je bilo tudi sprejetje novega zakona na področju varnosti, t. i. Šutarjevega zakona. Zakon je formaliziral mehanizme kolektivnega kaznovanja romske skupnosti in neenakopravno finančno in materialno prizadel eno najbolj zapostavljenih in socialno izključenih družbenih skupin v Sloveniji.

🟢 Performans 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑁𝑜 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑎 učinkuje kot srdit odgovor na tovrstne okoliščine. Njena mantra danes odzvanja kot 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐬𝐭𝐯𝐮, 𝐝𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐤𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐯𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐜̌ 𝐯𝐳𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐧𝐨 𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐣𝐨 𝐯 𝐳𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢 𝐳 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐣𝐨 nad najranljivejšimi člani skupnosti.

Delo je razstavljeno v okviru serije 𝐾𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟 z dovoljenjem umetnice.

𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧 (Bihać, 1991) je umetnica in romska aktivistka. Diplomirala je na Oddelku za slikarstvo na Univerzi v Banji Luki in magistrirala iz transmedijskih, vizualnih in uprizoritvenih umetnostih na Univerzi Syracuse v ZDA. Njeno delo izhaja iz osebnih izkušenj sistemskega zatiranja, ki ga doživlja kot ženska romskega porekla, ter kritično obravnava družbene stereotipe in represivne mehanizme. Selman, ki prebiva med Evropo in ZDA, s svojo prakso stremi k zaščiti in opolnomočenju žensk in razbijanju predsodkov, ki njeni skupnosti odrekajo pravico do samoizražanja. Svoja dela je predstavila v številnih mednarodnih institucijah in na bienalih po svetu (Stedelijk Museum, Gropius Bau, Hamburger Banhof, documenta fifteen, Manifesta 14) in zanje prejela številne mednarodne nagrade.

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𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐘 | 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧: 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑵𝒐 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒂
𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐤𝐨𝐯𝐚
𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥–𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

The ground-floor exhibition space of the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova features the artist and Roma activist 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧’s performance 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑵𝒐 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒂 (𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒚) (2020) as part of the 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 exhibition series.

🟢 The artist has carried out the performance, in which she repeatedly shouts the title phrase, several times in different contexts. It addresses her multifaceted identity and the conditions that contribute to her marginalisation as a woman, a Roma, an artist, and an immigrant in Germany and the US. Her intersectional and hybrid identity is emphasised in the performance in relation to the hegemonic power structures that systematically marginalise her and deprive her of equality. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐲 “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚!” 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 (𝐭𝐨𝐨) 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝.

🟢 Selman very notably did the performance in the context of the tense socio-political situation surrounding the 2020 US presidential election. She carried it out on election day in the middle of Washington, DC, shouting the performance mantra while walking down one of the main streets of the city, drawing the attention of passersby and the reporters covering the election, one accompanied by great social turmoil concerning labor, human and reproductive rights. Today, Selman’s work resonates strongly in the Slovenian context, especially in light of widespread moral panic and Romaphobia. The tragic events that occurred in 2025 in Novo mesto fueled intolerance towards the Roma minority in Slovenia. One of the very specific results of this has been the adoption of a new public safety act, the so-called Šutar Act, which has formalised mechanisms of collective punishment of the Roma community and financially and materially disproportionately affected one of the most neglected and excluded social groups in Slovenia.

🟢 Selman’s 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑁𝑜 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑎 acts as a forceful response to such circumstances. Today, her mantra echoes as 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 – 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.

The work is presented in the 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 series courtesy of the artist.

𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧 (b. Bihać, 1991) is an artist and Roma activist living between Europe and the US. She graduated from the Department of Painting at the University of Banja Luka and received her MA in Transmedia, Visual and Performing Arts from Syracuse University in the US. Her work is based on her personal experiences of systemic oppression as a woman of Roma origin, and critically addresses social stereotypes and repressive mechanisms. In her practice, she aims to protect and empower women and break down the prejudices that deny her community the right to self-expression. Selman has presented her work in major international institutions and biennials worldwide (Stedelijk Museum, Gropius Bau, Hamburger Banhof, documenta fifteen, Manifesta 14), and has received numerous international awards for it.