Grater Divide

Mona Hatoum (Palestinian, born in Beirut in 1952)

2002

Medium/Technique Patinated mild steel

Dimensions Overall (overall open - in S shape with 90 degrees angles): 203.2 x 193 x 83.8 cm (80 x 76 x 33 in.)
Overall (overall closed/folded): 203.2 x 88.9 x 20.3 cm (80 x 35 x 8 in.)
Weight: 170 lb. (77.11 kg)

Credit Line Museum purchase with funds donated by the Linde Family Foundation

Accession Number2002.320

NOT ON VIEW

CollectionsAsia, Contemporary Art

ClassificationsSculpture

Change something’s scale and you might change its essence. Hatoum was an exile from Lebanon during its bloody, 15-year civil war. This experience gave her a distinct perspective on what happens when the familiar changes or disappears. Here, just by making it bigger, she transforms a kitchen utensil into something sinister—a screen for hiding and dividing.

Provenance2002, sold by Alexander and Bonin Gallery, New York, to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 25, 2002)