Maman Sculpture in London

A Leng Spider out of Lovecraft's Dreamlands stalking about London? No, it's actually the sculpture "Maman 1999" by Louise Bourgeois. The titanic surreal spider was recently brought to Britain for exhibition, and maybe to bring a chill or two to the old city. According to the site above, "Maman 1999" is part of Bourgeois' Personnages series, and this one has a particular meaning:

Bourgeois first gained notice in the 1940s with her Surrealist-inspired Personnages: thin, vertical forms in wood or stone that evoke the human body. Installed in clusters, suggesting a small crowd or perhaps a family, the Personnages were meant to symbolize figures from the artist's past. Maman, in fact, is associated with the artist's own mother. The spider, who protects her precious eggs in a steel cage-like body, provokes awe and fear, but her massive height, improbably balanced on slender legs, conveys an almost poignant vulnerability.

Deeper meanings of psychology and family aside, I find the thing damned creepy and worthy of sharing here.

-Grim Blogger