News -
The Mother on its way to Oslo
The nine metre tall bronze sculpture, The Mother, will be arriving in Oslo next week. It will be shipped from London in five parts and assembled at Sukkerbiten in Bjørvika, Oslo. Before the summer, it will be welded together and patinated, so it can stand proudly forevermore at Inger Munch’s Pier.
Fact about The Mother and the project.
Torso and head in London. The Mother will be 9 meters tall and weighs 18.2 tonnes Photo: John O'Rourke.
This will take place on 21–23 March and onward
The Mother will travel from London in five parts on four large lorries and be transported to Norway by ship to Brevik in Porsgrunn on 21 March at 5 AM. From there, it will be transported directly to Sukkerbiten, just across from the MUNCH Museum and Inger Munch’s Pier, where a large scaffold has been set up. On 23 March, we will get the first impression of the sculpture’s size and shape, when its parts are assembled into one piece. This will be visible to passers-by. The work to finalise the sculpture will be taking place in the following months. This work will include welding the five parts together and patinating the sculpture. If all goes to plan, the sculpture will be in place on Inger Munch’s Pier this June.
Welding under production in London, at AB Fine Art Foundry. Photo: John O,Rourke
New, large art attraction for the people of the city
The Mother, made by the British artist Tracey Emin, shows a naked, unpolished, adult female figure, which can be perceived as raw and vulnerable at the same time. The sculpture depicts motherhood, a human theme affecting many people in many different ways. The sculpture will sit in a kneeling position in the small flower meadow outside the MUNCH Museum, facing the fjord. The sculpture was chosen as a location-specific artwork and a symbol of Oslo’s harbour area. She can be seen as a mother for nature, for humanity and for our city.
If all goes to plan, the sculpture will be lifted over on to Inger Munch’s Pier this June. Illustration: J.L Gibbons.
Lots of exciting events in June
If all goes to plan, The Mother will be lifted into place over the river Akerselva to take her place on Inger Munch’s Pier. There, the little meadow will be prepared around the sculpture before the pier is made accessible to the public and it will be possible to see the sculpture up close. The new National Museum will open its doors to the public on Saturday 11 June. Along with the permanent collection exhibit, the exhibition “I Call It Art” will open in the Light Hall at the top of the building. An exhibition showing the breadth of Norwegian contemporary art. The Sunday of the same weekend, authors Karl Ove Knausgård, Ocean Vuong and Tsitsi Dangarembga will submit their texts to the art project Future Library at Deichman Bjørvika. These will not be published and read until 2114.
