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Mona Hatoum: Early Works

Mar 29, 2023 - Oct 22, 2023

Still shot of woman's bare feet and a pair of black boots.
Still image from black and white video featuring a close up of a person's face. Their hands are pressed up against a clear barrier.
Photograph of person in a black mask holding a knife with bloody hands.
Still of Black-and-white video.
Still image of color video.
Still image of color video.
Still shot of woman's bare feet and a pair of black boots.
Still image from black and white video featuring a close up of a person's face. Their hands are pressed up against a clear barrier.
Photograph of person in a black mask holding a knife with bloody hands.
Still of Black-and-white video.
Still image of color video.
Still image of color video.

About the Exhibition

Early in her career, British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum (b. 1952, Beirut; lives and works in London) used a combination of media to pointedly reflect on power and how it is used. Mona Hatoum: Early Works presents a selection of documented performances and video works from that formative stage of Hatoum’s career.

Hatoum’s work from this period reaches across international, personal, and political contexts to address complex ideas that still resonate today. Among Hatoum’s key concerns are the politics imposed on women’s bodies, the relationship between spectators and subjects, and connections among globally marginalized communities. This exhibition, which includes highlights from the MCA Collection, revisits the early practice and foundational works of a prolific artist, 25 years after the MCA hosted her first solo exhibition in the United States.

Mona Hatoum: Early Works is curated by Bana Kattan, Pamela Alper Associate Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Installation Views

Funding

Lead support is provided by the Pritzker Traubert Collection Exhibition Fund, Cari and Michael Sacks, and Zell Family Foundation.