Mona Hatoum, Current Disturbance 1996. Tate. © Mona Hatoum; Keeping it Real: An Exhibition of Four Acts: Act 3: Mona Hatoum: Current Disturbance (installation view) Courtesy White Cube, London and Alexander and Bonin, New York. Photo: Patrick Lears .
Current Disturbance explores systems of control, political tension and the human body under surveillance
The installation consists of a wood and wire mesh structure of 240 stacked cages with a single household light bulb lying inside each cage. The title refers to the fluctuation of the electric current which makes the light bulbs fade up and down in a random fashion. The sound of the current coursing through the different wires is also amplified, creating a cacophony of crackling, humming and sometimes piercing sounds, which contribute to a feeling of unease.
Mona Hatoum’s work explores the tensions between the individual and systems of social control. She often uses the grid and the language of minimalism to challenge these systems, particularly, she states, ‘the regimentation of individuals, fixing them in space and putting them under surveillance’. Referencing restrictions on freedom and the power of the state, the structure evokes a tenement block or even prison quarters where the tenants are voicing their discontent.
Hatoum was born in Beirut to Palestinian parents. She settled in London in 1975 after the Lebanese Civil War broke out while she was on a short visit to Britain.
Helen Marten, The Lemon 2015
The Lemon 2015 is a large multipart sculpture comprising a wide range of objects, some found and others handmade from various materials, which are displayed both on plinths and directly on the gallery floor. Disparate objects, including three bright yellow citrus fruits and a pair of jugs – all cast in resin – an upturned Dulux paint bucket, spools of sewing thread and a brass cup, are brought together on and across a range of surfaces. The elements that form the work exemplify the precise and immaculately detailed objects that have become part of Marten’s visual lexicon, such as embroidered fabric, model replicas of natural objects like trees and fruit, and ceramics and powder-coated metal constructions.
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artworks in Mona Hatoum: Current Disturbance
Helen Marten, The Age in Which We Love (Bulging the House) 2021
The Age in Which We Love (Bulging the House) 2021 is a two-part work that comprises a large-scale painting and a sculpture that is placed on the floor directly in front of it. The painting, which measures three by almost two and a half metres, is composed of a series of screenprinted and hand-painted elements that were produced separately and then joined together using a series of metal ‘dividers’, which follow the linear printed elements of the work. The seven separate panels (each of different dimensions) that make up the work are screenprints on different materials – synthetic leather, suede, brocade, leatherette, printed cotton and crushed velvet – the textures of which remain visible to the viewer.
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artworks in Mona Hatoum: Current Disturbance
Art in this room
Helen Marten
The Lemon
2015
Helen Marten
The Age in Which We Love (Bulging the House)
2021