Intriguing Sculputers not to be Missed

Maman - Ottowa, Canada

Maman at first glance might evoke the feeling of fear and creepiness since it resembles a spider – the statue might make even scare arachnophobics.

Despite its intimidating look, the towering sculpture is plumbed from the depth of the artist’s torment of her mother’s death. Grief-stricken by her loss, Louise Bourgeois threw herself in Bievre River in France trying to drown herself.

Louise explained the spider is an ode to her mother, hence the name Maman, which means my mother in French. Much like her mother, the sculpture combines strength and vulnerability, carrying her precious eggs in steel cage body balanced by long slender legs that indicate poignant frailty.

The sculpture became a success and installed around the world since 1999.