Mona Hatoum presents Jardin suspendu [Hanging Garden] as part of the Serralves Collection Touring Exhibitions Programme of the Fundação de Serralves — Museu de Arte Contemporanea, Porto, Portugal.

The work is a living organism that associates opposing images of conflict and perseverance, destruction and life. At first glance, this barrier composed of jute bags is reminiscent of a war scene. However, each bag is filled not with sand, but with fertile soil in which seeds of different types of grass germinate, giving way, over the course of the exhibition, to a lush hanging garden.

This work resonates with Portugal's fiftieth anniversary of the first free elections with universal suffrage. Its presentation in Melgaço, a town marked by a history of emigration, is particularly significant, promoting a reflection on the past, present and future of community life in Portugal and abroad, considering the transformative potential of art and culture.

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