Selfie Macht Frei is a series of six prints that are illegible up close – its blurred silhouettes might suggest a joyful communion, and the context only becomes clear if we move away from the piece.

Gosia Kołdraszewska uses images of tourists taking selfies at the camp Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and puts them together with images of Israeli soldiers taking selfies in the homes of the Palestinian families violently displaced by the Israeli forces. The parallel drawn by the artist between the two is one of irony and contrast – between the carefree depiction and the horror of its contexts.

“My connection to Portugal began a year before my exchange when I took a two-week road trip across the country. Through the Erasmus+ exchange program, I spent a winter semester studying at ESAD.

In search of a place to print, I reached out to Catarina Lopes, who welcomed me into the screen-printing workshop with incredible warmth and kindness. It’s amazing how things come full circle and how art can connect people and places in unexpected ways. I’m 
incredibly grateful for this experience and for the openness I found at ESAD.”