Monumental "Maman", by Louise Bourgeois at Proa's esplanade

Installed in Proa’s esplanade, the monumental and emblematic spider Maman (1999) will be the prologue to the exhibition Louise Bourgeois: the return of the repressed. Thus, Proa will insert one of the artist’s capital works into public space, as was done at the Tate Gallery in London (2007), the Guggenheim Museum in New York (2008), and earlier the Guggenheim in Bilbao (1999).

Bourgeois wrote: “The Spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver.  My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother."