 Mona
Hatoum, Corps Étranger (1994) Produced
with the assistance of a surgeon. The video maps an internal and external
self-portrait of the artist through such complex
medical procedures
as endoscopy, colonoscopy, and echography. The video is projected on
the floor within a circular booth and is accompanied by a soundtrack
recorded from the artist's internal organs. The equally dramatic installation
Light Sentence
(1992) is a dark, cell-like room enclosed on three sides with
wire mesh. Hanging
from
the ceiling is a single light bulb, which is continually lowered and
raised, creating disorienting shadows on the wall. The effect of the
piece is alternately
vertiginous, frightening, and eerily beautiful.

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