Marbles and Hair
THE UNIVERSAL ART OF MONA HATOUM
“Hatoum’s art is hard to bear (like the refugee’s world, which is full of grotesque structures that bespeak excess as well as paucity), yet very necessary to see as...art that travesties the idea of a single homeland.”
—Edward W. Said, 199933
Using a medium as innocuous as dozens of identical marbles, Mona Hatoum contemplates the issues of migration and the fluidity of international boundaries. The artist has created a map of the world, minus the steel-and-concrete reinforced barriers: All seven continents are made from interchangeable glass marbles.
Map (second version), 1999 / clear glass marbles / dimensions variable / installation: Capricci (possibilities of other worlds) / Casino Luxumberg / July 7–September 2, 2007 / photo: Christian Mosar / Photo courtesy of Alexander and Bonin, New York.
Not all of her work is presented in such unassuming media. By using such an elemental material as human hair, Hatoum evokes a visceral reaction from the observer. Much of her work delves into the very human phenomena of political oppression, violence, and torture.
As a Palestinian born in Lebanon, Hatoum often makes reference to those who are born far from their homelands. One sculpture—a suitcase sprouting hair—alludes to the pervasive issue of human trafficking, commanding the viewer’s attention while appealing to one’s sense of the grotesque.
Traffic, 2002 / compressed card, plastic, metal, beeswax and human hair / 19 x 25-1/2 x 26-3/4 in / 48 x 65 x 68 cm / photo: Arturo González de Alba / Photo courtesy of Alexander and Bonin, New York.
Hatoum uses such unsettling, unnerving aesthetics to draw the viewer into a heartfelt examination of the darker corners of human existence. —DJS