The spiral is a motif that French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) returned to throughout her career, first employing the idea in the 1950s. Bourgeois is known for work that explores gender and femininity and draws from her own childhood memories, especially those of her family and its tapestry business. The artist connected the spiral image to her childhood experience of ringing fabric dry, when she would twist the wet cloth into a coiled, spiral shape. In her work, she used the form to experiment with the desire for control, sometimes in the form of violence. In her Spiral Woman sculptures, a woman’s body and face are completely covered in a tightly wound coil, leaving only her arms and legs visible to the viewer. Her hidden form is left suspended from the ceiling, hanging in a constant state of vulnerability.

Learn more about the sculptures that inspired this pin HERE.