For the first time, a major survey of Mona Hatoum’s work is being presented in the Netherlands, offering a comprehensive look at her artistic journey. Hosted at the Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort, Inside Out, a solo exhibition dedicated to the British-Palestinian artist, features 35 works from across the artist’s career, from her 1980s performances and videos to recent sculptures, installations and works on paper.
Born in 1952 in Beirut, Lebanon, as the daughter of Palestinian exiles, Mona Hatoum 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 transforms themes of global conflict into imaginative sculptures and installations that are both compelling and thought-provoking. Under her artistic gaze, everyday objects are electrified – a globe transforms into a buzzing red neon map, glass shapes become trapped within cage-like structures. Objects of daily life, like chairs, cots, and kitchen utensils are reimagined as strange, dangerous, or even threatening forms, challenging viewers to question and reconsider their assumptions about the world around them.
The idea behind this work for me was that ‘hot spots’, or spots of conflict these days are no longer limited to certain areas of disputed borders, but it feels like the whole world is caught up in conflict and unrest.
— Mona Hatoum
For instance, the whole world takes centre stage in Hot Spot (2013), a steel cage-like globe tilted at the same angle as the Earth. Using thin red neon tubing, the continents are outlined in glowing light, giving the work an intense, mesmerising, yet seemingly dangerous energy. This work can also be seen as a reference to global warming. “When I made the first version in 2006, I genuinely had the feeling that the whole world was up in arms”, Hatoum says. “The idea behind this work for me was that ‘hot spots’, or spots of conflict these days are no longer limited to certain areas of disputed borders, but it feels like the whole world is caught up in conflict and unrest”.
Graphics
Graphic language is another key element in Hatoum’s artistic practice, and the Amersfoort exhibition presents a selection of works that illustrate her approach in this direction. Developed during her residency at The Moody Center for the Arts in Houston, Texas, the series Frottage (2017) explores the interplay between texture, surface, and transformation. This collection of frottages consists of graphite rubbings of hexagonal bathroom-floor tiles on parchment paper. Through frenetic gestures, Hatoum transforms an otherwise ordinary geometric pattern into an image reminiscent of a fence or barrier. The French term frottage, borrowed from Surrealist artists, refers to the technique of rubbing surfaces to create textures or imprints – a method Hatoum has used since the 1990s to create evocative works with materials of personal and often political significance.
An homage to her Middle Eastern origins, Beirut (major) (2022), depicts a hand-drawn map of the Lebanese capital on translucent tracing paper, punctuated by burnt-out sections across the surface. The delicate, lace-like pattern of scorched gaps and fissures reflects the devastation caused by the 2020 port explosion. The contrast between the fragile, intricate lines and the violent act of burning creates a striking visual dichotomy, underscoring themes of destruction and loss. The work remains powerfully relevant today, in light of the recent Israeli bombings, which have brought further destruction to the city.
Hatoum often incorporated furniture, domestic tools, and restrictive architectural structures as a backdrop for performances that focused intensely on the body and the experience of displacement as a woman exiled from her native culture.
Another impactful piece resonating with conflicts worldwide – including the situation in Gaza – is Hatoum’s Untitled series. Comprising three lithographs, these works appropriate the pattern of the chain link fence or grid, subtly undermining its rigidity by using wavering, hand-drawn lines. The artist frequently employs motifs such as fences, cages, and racks as metaphors for the social and political structures that confine us. Cold, bare, and hard-edged, the grid reflects themes of barriers, borders, and restriction of movement.
The performances of the 80s
Mona Hatoum created approximately 35 performances between 1980 and 1988, none of which were staged for video recording. Instead, they were designed for direct engagement with the audience, taking various forms depending on the context. The exhibition documents some of these performances through the installation Performance Documents, 1980-1987/2013, an installation composed of photographs, sketches, drawings, notes, descriptions, and videos. This rare archival material offers insight into a pivotal period in Hatoum’s career when she created performances both in gallery settings and public spaces.
Following her graduation from art school, Hatoum’s performances were shaped by her active involvement in the fringe art scene of 1980s London. These works stand out for their striking visual impact and deep, emotional and political engagement – qualities that continue to define her later sculptures, installations, and works on paper. Recurring themes include the body, gender, notions of marginalisation, surveillance, and state control. Hatoum often incorporated furniture, domestic tools, and restrictive architectural structures as a backdrop for performances that focused intensely on the body and the experience of displacement as a woman exiled from her native culture. Since these works were often performed only once, this documentation provides the contemporary viewer with a unique insight into an important period in both Hatoum’s career and the 1980s art scene as a whole.
The performances were marked by a striking interplay of vulnerability and confrontation, as she used her body and surroundings to explore complex themes of power, identity, and resistance. In works like Under Siege, for example, she positioned herself as a vulnerable figure, whereas in other performances, she turned the dynamic around, confronting or threatening the audience. In her street performances, Hatoum turned uninvolved passers-by into an audience. However, she was never interested in merely testing physical boundaries. Rather, her use of the body – combined with other elements, such as the mud in Under Siege or the lighting in The Negotiating Table – was always geared towards making a statement. While many of these performances reference political events and aspects of her own biography, they also evoke broader, universal experiences of violence, conflict, and suffering.
Hatoum’s work intertwines political hypotheses with uncanny visual metaphors, challenging power structures and political concerns on a deeply personal level.
Anni 90
In the 1990s, Hatoum’s work shifted towards a more abstract, less narrative-driven dimension, allowing for broader associative interpretations. Through sculptures and installations, she began creating works that, while seemingly referencing minimalism, focused more on the formal use of materials. In Amersfoort, visitors can see Home (1999), an installation in which various kitchen utensils are placed on a table and connected with electric wires that run to light bulbs hidden under colanders and graters. The fluctuating electric current causes the bulbs to flicker, amplified by a crackling, buzzing hum that imbues the scene with a sense of tension.
What would typically be a domestic setting is transformed, electrified, and barricaded by a web of stretched wires, evoking a feeling of entrapment and violence rather than comfort or safety. As Hatoum explains, the ironic title was intentionally chosen “to disrupt our expectations of ‘home’ as a refuge or space of safety”. It’s a powerful declaration against domestic violence, a reality too often hidden behind closed doors.
Feminism, body and politics
Hatoum’s work intertwines political hypotheses with uncanny visual metaphors, challenging power structures and political concerns on a deeply personal level. Rather than drawing from specific political events or cultural awareness, her work addresses more intangible threats located within the individual experience. A notable example is the Over My Dead Body series (1988-2002), originally part of a billboard commission by Projects UK, which was displayed in Newcastle and other major UK cities. Hatoum describes the choice of the bold, defiant expression “Over my dead body” as “a humorous but also complex and contradictory image” meant to reverse power dynamics. In the artwork, her face is shown in profile with a toy soldier positioned between her eyes, a symbol of threatening masculinity reduced to a tiny, almost insignificant object. The words “Over my dead body” sit boldly next to Hatoum’s face, further emphasising the defiance and scale inversion.
Throughout her career, the artist has linked her work to different political movements, notably the black struggle. “Initially, it was important to think of the black struggle as an entirely political struggle. There were the usual political forces and attitudes that discriminated against people”, she spoke about how the political struggle for black rights mirrored the feminist movement in a 1977 interview with art critic Mike Aker. “In the same way that feminism started with the overall concept ‘sisterhood’, so to speak, we ended up with a lot of feminism. Once the basic issues were established, the black struggle diversified. Then, blackness here is not about the colour of your skin, but about your political stance”.
Elleboogkerk
Also in the recently transformed space of Elleboogkerk in Amersfoort, which features extensive installations by both local and international artists, visitors can view the newly commissioned installation by Hatoum – Web (2025), a large-scale constellation of delicate, transparent glass spheres connected by wires, forming the shape of a spider’s web. Suspended above the space, it takes up almost the entirety of the space, creating a fragile yet imposing structure. Web can be seen as a symbol of oppressive entrapment, yet it also evokes a sense of shelter or safety. Just as spiders weave webs to capture their prey, Hatoum’s web suggests the delicate balance between vulnerability and protection. The glass spheres sparkle like dew drops on a web, creating a paradox of beauty and unease. Web offers a stark yet poetic reminder of the physical and psychological webs of entrapment we navigate in life.
Through her evocative sculptures, installations, and performances, Mona Hatoum continues to challenge perceptions of home, identity, and power. Her work transforms the familiar into the unsettling, urging viewers to confront themes of displacement, conflict, and control on both a personal and global scale. Open till May 4, Inside Out at the Kunsthal KAdE offers a rare opportunity to experience the breadth of her artistic vision, highlighting her ability to turn ordinary materials into profound reflections on the human condition.
