Mona Hatoum's 'Behind the Seen' at Museo Nivola Explores Surveillance and Domesticity

The Fondazione Nivola – Museo Nivola in Orani, Sardinia, presents 'Behind the Seen', a solo exhibition by Mona Hatoum running from 2025. Curated by Giuliana Altea, Antonella Camarda, and Luca Cheri, the show includes both existing works and new productions created during Hatoum's residency, often in collaboration with local artisans. The exhibition examines the relationship between body, matter, and land, questioning how space is regulated, surveilled, and colonized. Key works include 'Divide' (2025), a hospital screen turned into a barbed-wire barrier; 'Mirror' (2025), a grid-like structure that reflects opacity; and 'Twelve Windows' (2012–2013), featuring Palestinian embroidery on washing lines. New pieces include ceramic bird cages made with Terrapintada, compressed earth blocks with rusted nails titled 'Gathering', and 'Shooting Star I and II', spiky metal forms created with blacksmith Emanuele Ziranu. Weaver Mariantonia Urru crafted a carpet 'Eye Spy' from a pixelated drone image using traditional Sardinian technique. The title installation 'Behind the Seen' assembles everyday objects like a spiked colander and a skinned soccer ball, evoking trauma and memory. Hatoum's work, informed by her Palestinian background and exile, uses minimal forms with threatening materials to critique power structures.