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עמוד:14
The Repose of the Swings relations . The wooden swings of Suspended will not smash to pieces , but they require an overall observation and supervision to avoid violent collisions or chaos . Hatoum implies that the international balance of existence between various countries is extremely fragile . The basic ingredients all lead to collision , and only supervision beyond the control of a single state can prevent the outbreak of war . The second installation , Bunker , is displayed appropriately in the lower ground gallery . Hatoum turned the entire large space into an architectural-sculptural model of a typical modem city in the wake of war and destruction . The ^^^^^^ structures of the multi-storied buildings are made of square steel pipes . The building skeleton and walls are the only representation of the city and its typical skyline . There are no other colors in the model besides the black-gray patina of the industrial steel rectangular tube sections , and there are no other elements that represent cars , trees , or people . Viewers can walk , 3 / 770 ^ the buildings' steel models , some taller than human height , and sense the atmosphere of a town scarred by war . Despite the cutting and burning like traces of bullets and bomb-shells , the installation preserves a generic view of a cityscape reminiscent of a bold 3 D charcoal drawing . This is a giant sculpture that looks depressing , especially from up close . Burning the steel tubes and cutting them with the help of arc welding , however , is too direct and too simplistic an act . The urge to use real fire or "burnt canvases " to express protest , disaster , or civil war is understandable , but not necessarily needed in a work of art . What ' s missing the sensitive twists that slightly alter the natural shape and meaning of the piece , so characteristic of Hatoum's earlier works , which created tension that powerfully affected the viewer . This is not the case here . The exhibition ' s Visiting a Mona Hatoum exhibition always arouses an expectation as well as a concern of a psychological shock , all the more so when the title is "Bunker . " The most prevalent meaning of the word is a reinforced underground shelter . Another suggests a place in which 0 / 7 & is trapped . The exhibition begins in the entrance hall ( which offers a spectacular view of the yard ) with a joyous , colorful installation inspired by a playground entitled Suspended . A field of 35 beautifully-crafted , black-and-red wooden swings is densely chained to the ceiling . Each swing is suspended at an oblique angle to its neighbors , and all are in a perpetual delicate motion , as if they were floating 0 ור water . Visitors may move around the swings , but not allowed to use them . From up close one may notice that each of the swings bears the street map of a capital city , randomly chosen from the continents , carved into its seat . The first impression of playground joy and the illusion of equality and geopolitical harmony between the capital cities disappear when one realizes that the growth and prosperity —a "full swing" — of one city can only be obtained by destruction of its neighbor's swing . The use of swings as a sculptural metaphor is not new to Hatoum ' s work . In 1993 she created A Couple ( of Swings ) . well crafted swings from stainless steel with a polishedtransparent glass seat , hung close together and opposite one another . Referring to that work , Hatoum said : "I feel that the elegance and coolness of the swings makes the tension of an impending disaster — they could swing towards each other and smash to pieces . " The new work calls to mind a certain aspect of the previous one . It no longer belongs to minimalism , but nevertheless introduces an extension of the universal idea from 1993 , from a couple ' s relationship to international
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