Mona Hatoum

The everyday objects used by Mona Hatoum (1952, Beirut, Lebanon) acquire a metaphorical charge as a result her artistic intervention. Her installations often take on architectonic forms and reference the safety and familiarity of the home, as well as displacement or existence in areas of conflict.

Four of Hatoum’s works were brought together in De Meelfabriek: Do unto others… (1997), Rubber Mat (1996), Prayer Mat (1995) and Shift (2012).Shift shows the entire world as a danger zone with seismographic yellow circles and the shifting continents. At the same time, the woollen rug is extremely inviting and tactile. The other works on display also take advantage of the tension between order and chaos, beauty and revulsion, familiarity and danger. A closer look at the Prayer Mat, for instance, reveals that it is made from upturned nails. Where the head of a praying Muslim might come into contact with the mat, there is a compass indicating the direction of Mecca.

Mona Hatoum lives and works in London, Great Britain and Berlin, Germany.