Mona Hatoum (b. 1952)

'The first thing I noticed when I came here was how divorced people were from their bodies, although recently the art world has become far more preoccupied with the body. I am convinced that this is a direct result of the AIDS epidemic which has forced everyone to become aware of the body's vulnerability. Since my early performances, the body has been central to my work. Even before that I was making small works on paper using bodily fluids and the body rejects as materials. I have always been dissatisfied with work that just appeals to your intellect and does not actually involve you in a physical way. For me, the embodiment of an artwork is within the physical realm; the body is the axis of our perceptions, so how can art afford not to take that as a starting point? We relate to the world through our senses. You first experience an artwork physically. I like the work to operate on both sensual and intellectual levels.' (The artist quoted in 'Mona Hatoum Michael Archer in Conversation', in Press Play; Contemporary Artists in Conversation, London 2005, p. 288).