Mona Hatoum

Kunsthal KAdE is launching a solo exhibition devoted to the work of British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum this spring. Titled Inside Out, it will feature work from across the artist’s career: from her performance and videos from the 1980s to recent sculptures, installations and works on paper. This is the first major survey of the artist’s work in the Netherlands.

Hatoum was born in Lebanon as the daughter of Palestinian exiles and has lived in London since 1975. Her work revolves around the tension between the concept of home, displacement and exile. With a minimalist aesthetic and poetic use of the ordinary, Hatoum manages to transform themes of global conflict into imaginative sculptures and installations that are both compelling and thought-provoking. Everyday objects are electrified, the globe is a buzzing red neon map, and glass forms are trapped in cage-like structures.

The concept of “home” is a recurring motif in Hatoum’s oeuvre. By subtly manipulating the everyday and the mundane, Hatoum turns the idea of “home” as a refuge on its head.

The artist often takes familiar household objects as a starting point and transforms them into threatening sculptures, as if there is an undercurrent of hostility and danger behind them. These exaggerated situations challenge the viewer to question and reconsider their relationship with the world around them.