The Woven Child exhibits works from the last two decades of Louise Bourgeois’ life and is currently on at the Hayward Gallery in London until the 15th of May 2022. Bourgeois was a prolific French-American artist, best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation pieces. She frequently worked with themes such as domesticity, family, motherhood and sexuality and over the years has been tied to movements including abstract expressionism, surrealism and feminist art, though not officially.
As the name suggests, in this exhibition Bourgeois makes use of domestic fabrics in many creative forms including sculptures, drawings, tapestry and installations. Her delicate use of soft materials imbues these pieces with a sensuous, vulnerable and intimate quality, a trademark of hers that is always sensitively balanced and effective. Throughout her career she has found the process of making art a therapeutic one, and in this exhibition she saw the actions involved in creating pieces in metaphorical terms, relating the cutting, ripping and sewing to notions of psychological healing and the bodily expression of mental tensions – giving new-found meaning to the process of mending.
Something I admire about Bourgeois’ work is the depth of meaning in each of piece. She made use of metaphors such as threads to support familial connections and the inclusion of clothing from her childhood as a way of retaining memories and reflection on her past experiences. These pieces inspire the viewer to reflect on their own formative experiences and connections.
Sewing had always been a part of Bourgeois’ life, having grown up helping her parents to repair tapestries for their gallery, and her perspective on its process is interesting; she saw needles in a magical light, having the power to repair damage and “claim forgiveness” without aggression. Similarly, some pieces make use of vintage prosthetic limbs to symbolise psychological trauma and healing. I found this part of the exhibition particularly impactful and a good opportunity for the viewer to connect with their metaphorical healing and wounds.
This exhibition is definitely worth a visit while its still there, I found it extremely inspirational and it is densely packed with quality pieces.
