Exhibitions
Mona Hatoum transforms the Fondazione Prada into a reflection on contemporary fragility
From January 29 to November 9, 2026, the Fondazione Prada presents Over, Under and In Between in Milan, a project conceived specifically for its spaces by the artist Mona Hatoum. The exhibition is installed in the Cistern, one of the complex's most distinctive buildings, and offers a profound reflection on the instability of the present and the fragility of human existence.
This cultural center, spearheaded by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, has occupied a former distillery since 2015, transformed by architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA. The architectural intervention respects the site's industrial history while introducing new volumes, creating an environment where past and present engage in constant dialogue. Within this context, the Cistern—composed of three vertical chambers that once served as storage areas—becomes the ideal setting for the Hatoum installations.
Exhibition view of “Over, under and in between” by Mona Hatoum. Photo: Roberto Marossi. Courtesy Fondazione Prada. Mona Hatoum. all of a quiver, 2022. Aluminum square tubes, steel hinges, electric motor, cable.
The exhibition is structured around three independent works that allude to recurring elements in the artist's language: the net, the map, and the grid. Each one activates the space in a different way, establishing a direct relationship with the visitor's physical experience and exploring notions of danger, vulnerability, and instability.
Upon entering, the viewer is immediately confronted by a delicate suspended structure: a large spiderweb formed by transparent, fragile, blown-glass spheres, connected by fine cables. This installation simultaneously evokes the idea of trap and refuge, suggesting both the threat of being ensnared and the possibility of shelter. The spheres, resembling dewdrops or celestial bodies, lend a poetic and almost cosmic dimension, underscoring the interconnectedness of the elements that make up reality.
Exhibition view of “Over, under and in between” by Mona Hatoum. Photo: Roberto Marossi. Courtesy Fondazione Prada. Mona Hatoum. all of a quiver, 2022. Aluminum square tubes, steel hinges, electric motor, cable.
In the central room, the concrete floor is covered with more than thirty thousand small, translucent red glass spheres that form a world map. In this representation, there are no political borders: only the continents are outlined in an imprecise and mutable geography. The unstable and unfixed arrangement makes the map a vulnerable territory, open to external alterations, which the artist herself describes as an undefined and precarious space.
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