Mona Hatoum
Untitled (stick)

Untitled (Stick) is one of a series of works in which Mona Hatoum subtly undermines the intention implicit in furniture and other household objects by intervening in their forms and materials. In the works from this series, those objects intended to provide comfort and support are replaced with elements that represent discomfort or potential torture. In this particular work, Hatoum manipulates the form and function of a walking stick – shaped after a stick with a curved handle that she herself needed to walk after an accident. Made of soft silicone rather than wood, it no longer provides the support one would expect from the object. Even when unused, the material gives way under its own weight and conveys a state of material and mental insecurity.
Text: Eva Scharrer