Mona Hatoum (Palestinian, born Lebanon, 1952). *+ and -*, 1994–2004. Steel, aluminum, sand and electric motor, artist's proof from edition of 3 plus 1 artist's proof, 10 5/8 x 157 1/4 x 157 1/4 inches (27 x 399.4 x 399.4 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; General Purchase Funds, 2007 (2007:2a-d). © 2004 Mona Hatoum.

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

Mona Hatoum

Palestinian, active in London, born Beirut, Lebanon, 1952

+ and -, 1994-2004

steel, aluminum, sand, and electric motor

Edition: artist's proof 1/1 from edition of 3 plus 1 artist's proof

overall: 10 5/8 x 165 3/8 inches (26.99 x 420.05 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

General Purchase Funds, 2007

2007:2a-d

More Details

Provenance

Alexander and Bonin, New York;
March 23, 2007, purchased by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo

Class

Sculpture

Work Type

Construction (sculpture)

Information may change due to ongoing research.Glossary of Terms

Quiet and subtle in its implications, Mona Hatoum’s + and − in part reflects the artist's identity as a British resident of Palestinian descent. Hatoum’s family left Haifa, Israel, in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli War and settled in Beirut, Lebanon, where she was born in 1952. The Lebanese Civil War broke out while Hatoum was visiting London in 1975, preventing her from returning home.

The sculpture's rotating arm simultaneously marks and smooths the surface of a disk of sand. The work serves as an affecting metaphor for the eternal sands of time, the cyclical nature of historical events, and the beauty and horror of a life fully lived.

Label from DECADE: Contemporary Collecting 2002–2012, August 21, 2012–January 6, 2013