Tracey Emin’s The Mother to be unveiled in Oslo this June
Unveiling June 2022
on the Inger Munch’s Pier, Munchmuseet, Oslo, Norway
We are pleased to announce that Tracey Emin’s monumental bronze sculpture, The Mother, has arrived in Oslo after being transported by ship from London. In June 2022, the nine-metre tall, 18.2 tonne sculpture will be unveiled on the Inger Munch’s Pier, outside the MUNCH Museum which hosted the recent landmark exhibition, Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch – The Loneliness of the Soul.
The sculpture depicts a large, kneeling figure who holds gently around something we can not see, with its back to the museum. The work was selected from several entries through an international art competition in 2018. The jury's statement describes the choice of artwork as follows: «The jury believes that this proposal will appeal to a wide range of visitors and that The Mother has the potential to become a site-specific landmark and a symbol not only for the MUNCH Museum, but also for Oslo's harbor area ».
Emin’s long-standing fascination with Edvard Munch began at an early age and was a key factor in Emin’s decision to become an artist. Her winning contribution appears as a sphinx waiting for the tide, and according to the artist herself, the sculpture is a kind of companion to Munch's spirit. She gives symbolic protection to the place that houses his life's work, and she welcomes all visitors who come from the fjord.
