Maman at Guggenheim Bilbao: The Giant Spider Sculpture You Can't Miss

 

Maman’, the sculpture by Louise Bourgeois at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Photo: Guggenheim Bilbao (Facebook)

Maman is the spider that tiptoes in front of the Guggenheim Museum, greeting visitors as they walk along the riverside promenade. It intimidates them and attracts them at the same time. Seen from the museum’s upper windows, it’s even more striking. Watching the passersby below—who look almost like insects beside her—is unforgettable.

The French‑American artist Louise Bourgeois smiles mischievously at the camera while holding her sculpture ‘Fillette’. Photo: Louise Bourgeois (Facebook)

No one in Bilbao, nor almost any human, would ever have imagined a spider as a mother figure. That changed when the French‑American artist Louise Bourgeois arrived on the scene.

“The spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver… Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that feed on mosquitoes. We all know mosquitoes spread disease and are therefore undesirable. So spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother.”

Egg sac attached to the abdomen of Maman, Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Photo by Mundus Patet on Twitter

Seeing Maman from the ground is overwhelming. Her nine or ten meters of height, her twenty‑two tons of bronze and stainless steel. She is both protector and predator. Her abdomen is a cage and a shelter at once. Inside, she guards the marble eggs of future generations of arachnids.

Invasion by Carlos Gotay. Maman, Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Carlos Gotay’s photographic version looks like something out of science fiction—almost War of the Worlds. But the truth is that the Maman living beside the Guggenheim is not the only one of her brood inhabiting planet Earth.
Other specimens can be found in Tokyo, London, Kansas City, Ottawa, Saint Petersburg, Seoul, Des Moines, Paris, Boston, Washington, and Buenos Aires—though in some places they appear only in temporary exhibitions. They say some travelers even collect selfies with Maman in every city where she is displayed.

Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture Maman in London

“The spider is an animal that hides in corners and sets traps. Corners offer safety.”
That’s how unsettling Maman becomes in the words of her creator. No one who visits Bilbao can resist posing next to her—or beneath her abdomen. And almost everyone does. Because what unsettles us also moves us. It’s pure emotion.

Maman sculpture at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Photo by Gorka Barreras Alday

Have you ever come face to face with Maman — in Bilbao or any other city? Tell us in the comments!