Mona Hatoum (British and Palestinian, born 1952). <em>Waiting is Forbidden</em>, 2006. Enameled metal plaque, 11 13/16 x 15 3/4 in. (30 x 40 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons and John and Barbara Vogelstein, 2008.31. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2008.31_PS9.jpg)

Why is this image so small?

This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

Mona Hatoum (British and Palestinian, born 1952). Waiting is Forbidden, 2006. Enameled metal plaque, 11 13/16 x 15 3/4 in. (30 x 40 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons and John and Barbara Vogelstein, 2008.31. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2008.31_PS9.jpg)

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why in Arabic?

Aha! Great question!

Mona Hatoum is the artist, and she likes to point at the idea of the youth in Arab countries, who are caught between action and inaction because of the political climates in their countries. "Waiting Is Forbidden" can be taken to mean no loitering.

Is she the photographer? Where are her pieces located?

She is a Canadian-based sculptor an most of her pieces are exhibited in Canada. Interestingly the artist hired a traditional sign-maker to create the work in the same format as a traditional Cairo street sign, which often has the name of the street written in two languages.

It's part of her series called "Cairo," where she also speaks about the immigrant journey, particularly for children and teenagers who stand between two different cultures.

Waiting is Forbidden

Mona Hatoum

Contemporary Art

Mona Hatoum’s blue enamel sign reads “Waiting is forbidden” in English, though the Arabic may be more accurately translated as “No stopping and no loitering.” An ominous warning rather than a precise directive, the phrase evokes the surveillance of public spaces as well as the sense of dislocation experienced by refugees. Hatoum was displaced beginning in 1975, when she found herself stranded in London after the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war. Since then, her work has questioned the meaning and modes of home, migration, and displacement.

ARTIST Mona Hatoum, British and Palestinian, born 1952

MEDIUM Enameled metal plaque

DATES 2006

DIMENSIONS 11 13/16 x 15 3/4 in. (30 x 40 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2008.31

CREDIT LINE Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons and John and Barbara Vogelstein

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Mona Hatoum (British and Palestinian, born 1952). Waiting is Forbidden, 2006. Enameled metal plaque, 11 13/16 x 15 3/4 in. (30 x 40 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons and John and Barbara Vogelstein, 2008.31. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2008.31_PS9.jpg)

EDITION Edition: Unique work originally from the 2006 "Cairo" edition of 6

IMAGE overall, 2008.31_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2017

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.