The Woven Child, features textile artworks Louise Bourgeois made during the last chapter of her mayor career in the 90s, exploring what she described in her own words as “the magical power of the needle… to repair the damage” and to offer “a request for forgiveness”. Through these works Bourgeois reveals her most intimate fears, transforming the components of her fragility into purely provocative and invigorating works addressing predominantly psychological themes, including the introspection of her own identity, sexuality, memory and family relationships. A range of sculptures made from fragments of domestic textiles of clothings and linens reminiscing the artist’s youth, when she used to work at her family’s tapestry atelier. The decision to move away from traditional sculptural materials stems from the aim of transforming the past into the future by actions such as cutting, tearing, sewing, and joining, which in psychological and metaphorical terms refer to the recovery from trauma experienced after separation or abandonment. Bourgeois succeeds in best communicating what has been described above by creating figurative sculptures without limbs and heads, or even fantastic beings recalling disturbing fairy tale characters that are once again related to her own personal sphere.
“Over a decade after the artist’s death, these works continue to challenge us with questions that seem more compelling and urgent than ever.”
