Biography of Mona Hatoum
Born into a Palestinian family, Mona Hatoum (born 1952 in Beirut, LB) is a multimedia artist currently living and working in London and Berlin. While her artistic oeuvre varies from works on paper to installation, Hatoum started out in the 80s doing performance and video art, concentrating primarily on the human body. Since the early 90s she has shifted her focus to large-scale installations, aimed at confronting the viewer with distressing themes and eliciting conflicting emotions. The transformation of familiar domestic objects such as chairs and kitchen utensils plays an important role. In Homebound, 2000 or Sous Tension, 1996 assemblages of household furniture are rendered strangely familiar and yet at the same time appear distinctly threatening.
Mona Hatoum has produced a variety of multiples and edition works, ranging from delicate handmade pieces on paper containing human hair, or small sculptures such as coat hangers, cups, or necklaces. In addition, she has created a number of metal grid works, which allude to physical violence and imprisonment, leaving the observer with irreconcilable feelings of both beauty and horror.
