The Narratives of Mona Hatoum and the ‘Contrapuntal’ Effect: Unframing Domesticity as Performativity and Political Gesture

Abstract:

In this paper I will focus on the work of the Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum, who has been an exile and an emigré for many years and who strongly reflects this identitarian condition in her artistic practice. My discussion will be anchored in Said’s concept of the “contrapuntal” and his questioning of the borders between public and private space, the emotional and the political, the fading notions of “home” and “homeland” in the context of migration and exile. Moreover, I will argue that as a woman artist who is socially and politically engaged Hatoum’s work helps us reflect on the new challenges transnational Feminism faces today as an emancipatory and a resilient critical movement.

Keywords:
art; contrapuntal; exile; resilience