São Paulo – A gigantic, dressing-screen-shaped kitchen grater, an also massive set of Islamic prayer beads built from cannonballs, ancient chairs in a circle, interwoven with sewing line, suitcases standing still as if they were ready to leave, a mat awaiting someone to pray on it. These objects and scenes are featured in an exhibition by the Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum, open at São Paulo’s Estação Pinacoteca until March 1st, 2015.
The exhibition features simple, yet emotionally charged artworks. Each of the installations prepared by the Palestinian-born and London- and Berlin-based Hatoum has its peculiarities, but on touring the venue, one gets the impression that there inhabits the art from some far Muslim corner, by an artist who wants to discuss things from back home and things of war.
One’s attention is grabbed by a corner where the suitcases are, in one of the exhibition rooms. They are two old pieces of baggage lying beside a chair, next to an object attached to an umbilical cord-of-sorts, in a scene that seems loaded with reminiscences from a home that’s been left behind. Another installation features household items: a cooking pot, a grater, a skimmer, a chair etc., hanging from one another in a long string from floor to ceiling.
One of the large installations comprises 2,400 slabs of soap on the floor, laying the groundwork on top of which little dots of red glass outline the map of the Oslo Accords, indicating the territories Israel was supposed to give back to the Palestinians under the agreements. There are metal toy soldier compositions, a panel with a blank world map on a white background, cut up bottles lying on the floor as though they were hovering above it.
Mona Hatoum’s exhibit also features video installations. One video shows feet walking along a busy street, dragging shoes behind them. The feet are bare, the shoelaces tied to the actress’ ankles, and the footage gives off the impression that the shoes are very heavy. The picture zooms in on the feet first and then backs out, showing people’s reactions as they pass by the shoe-dragging artist.
At Pinacoteca, besides her own art, Hatoum presents a set of pillowcases embroidered by the mothers of children with heart conditions. In a partnership with Associação de Assistência à Criança e ao Adolescente Cardíacos e aos Transplantados do Coração, an association that assists children and adolescents with heart problems and transplants, these mothers have embroidered their dreams onto the pillowcases. On those hanging pieces of fabric, they have drawn flowers, houses, children, families. One mother embroidered herself in front of a mirror, explaining that her dream is to have perfect teeth so she can muster the courage to smile.
The exhibition, a retrospective of Mona Hatoum’s work featuring five previously unseen projects, is her first solo show in South America. The artist first garnered attention from the art world first with her videos and installations, and later with her large-scale sculptures and installations. Hatoum hails from a Palestinian family and was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1952. She is a prize-winning exhibiting artist. One of her exhibitions is set to open in June 2015, at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and then travel the world.
The show in São Paulo features 30-plus works and was curated by Chiara Bertola, with curatorial coordination from José Augusto Ribeiro and Natasha Barzaghi Geenen. The show is sponsored by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and organizations such as Qatar Museums and the British Council. Mona Hatoum spent five weeks in São Paulo setting up the exhibition, which opened on December 5th. The opening ceremony was attended by Arab Chamber C-level officials such as president Marcelo Sallum, CEO Michel Alaby, senior Institutional and International Relations advisor Ramez Goussous, and culture director Silvia Antibas.
Information:
Exhibition of artworks by Mona Hatoum
Estação Pinacoteca
Largo General Osório square, 66 – Downtown – São Paulo
Telephone: (+55 11) 3335-4990
Tuesdays to Sundays beginning at 10am, last admission at 5:30pm and closing at 6pm
Combined ticket (Pinacoteca & Estação Pinacoteca): R$ 6 & R$ 3 (US$ 1.15 to US$ 2.3)
Free admission on Saturdays.
Student card holders pay half price.
Admission is free for children aged 10 or under and elders above 60.
Discount parking available – R$ 10 (US$ 3.8) for first three hours.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
