Biography

Mona Hatoum was born in 1952 in Beirut, Lebanon. She is a director, known for So Much I Want to Say (1983), Corps Étranger (1994) and Measures of Distance (1988).

She knew at an early age that she wanted to be an artist. Her father, who worked at the British embassy in Beirut, felt that she needed a more secure way to make a living. She studied graphic design at university in Beirut, and took a job at an advertising agency.

When civil war broke out in Lebanon in 1975, she happened to be visiting London. The Beirut airport remained closed for the next nine months. She stayed in London and attended art schools.

Formerly a performance artist, she now creates artistic installations.