Mona Hatoum. Turbulence

he exhibition Mona Hatoum: Turbulence brings to the forefront the diversity of Mona Hatoum’s work over the last 30 years. Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath of Art Reoriented, the exhibition’s premise builds on the artist’s topical work Turbulence (2012), a 4 x 4 meter square composed of thousands of glass marbles laid directly onto the floor. Placed exactly at the centre of the exhibition, this installation lies at the heart of a linear but non-chronological trajectory whereby a number of unexpected juxtapositions echo the complexity through which the artist (Beirut, Lebanon, 1952) has managed to challenge, and at times disturb, our experience of the ordinary. The choice of the notion of turbulence as a conceptual framework for the exhibition is derived from the thematic and formal dichotomies inherent within the artist’s work. These render it familiar yet perplexing, allowing for an intense aesthetic experience that is both inviting yet impenetrable, or, in other words, turbulent. On an internal level, turbulence echoes the artist’s questioning of self vis-à-vis one’s grappling with issues of alienation and displacement. Externally, it is a reflection of her interrogation of notions of belonging and collective memory. And finally, on a formalistic level, turbulence can be seen as resulting from the artist’s ongoing inquiry into ways of expanding the formal and material qualities of artistic expression. Mona Hatoum: Turbulence is the artist’s largest solo exhibition to date in the Arab world, and it consists of more than 70 works.