The Nest 1994

This monumental sculpture, The Nest, was made by Louise Bourgeois using steel. It's hard to know exactly when, because Bourgeois worked on themes over decades, letting ideas evolve. What strikes me is the way this sculpture uses industrial material to evoke something deeply personal and primal. Those spindly legs, the way they splay out, it's both menacing and vulnerable. There is real physicality to this piece, you can feel the weight of the metal, the texture of the welds and joins. Notice the abdomen, the way Bourgeois builds it up with those bulbous forms, like a protective shell. This relates to the whole piece, formally and metaphorically, because it reminds me of home, and motherhood. The Nest is very reminiscent of Bourgeois’s spider sculptures – the best known of which is Maman – which are monuments to her own mother. With these works Bourgeois reminds us that art can be a powerful language for exploring our deepest emotions and memories. It's not about answers; it's about opening up a space for feeling and questioning.