Mona Hatoum (منى حاطوم) is a Palestinian artist born in 1952 to a Palestinian family living in exile in Beirut, Lebanon. From 1970 to 1972, she studied graphic design at the Beirut College for Women. She traveled to London, England in 1975 and was inexpectedly forced to stay long than planned due to the Lebanese Civil War. She attended the Byam Shaw School of Art, London, followed by the Slade School of Fine Art, London. She explores the relationship between politics and the individual through her art installations and sculptures.