The large sculpture The Mother outside the new MUNCH will be installed towards the end of the year

MUNCH opens in the autumn of 2021. Outside of the museum, facing the Oslo Fjord, Oslo will have a new large sculpture; The Mother, created by British artist Tracey Emin. The sculpture arrives from London to Oslo during the summer, where the parts will be assembled together by the artist’s production team. Towards the end of the year, The Mother will be lifted to the new area where it will be placed, and be ready for the public late this year.

While we wait, we hope the public will use the area, which is now open and growing with a unique flower meadow that will form the foundation for The Mother.

The new area outside of MUNCH where The Mother is coming. Photo: Istvan Virag, Agency of Cultural Affairs, the City of Oslo.

- The Oslo harbour area is becoming a unique environment with art, culture, swimming and restaurants. Now with new MUNCH and soon the large sculpture by Tracey Emin. The artwork The Mother will become a new icon for Oslo, says Omar Samy Gamal, the City of Oslo’s Vice Mayor for Culture and Sport.

Omar Samy Gamal, the City of Oslo’s Vice Mayor for Culture and Sport. Photo: Sturlasson.

- While we wait for The Mother, we hope the public will use the area which now are open. There are other large sculptures in the area to discover while you wait. Fortunately, Oslo has a strong Art Programme, which ensures great public art wherever the city grows and develops, says Stein Slyngstad, Director at the Agency for Cultural Affairs which manages the city of Oslo’s Art Programme.

A new public area for The Mother

When The Mother arrives, she will take her place at a new area, kneeling in a little flower meadow on a brand-new plot in Oslo outside the new MUNCH Museum. The area is designed as part of the art project, in line with the artist’s vision and was developed by the British landscape architects J & L Gibbons. This will ensure a good interplay between the sculpture, the area and the way in which the public uses the space.

The space have a seating area and will be accessible from land via a 40-metre long bridge from the harbour promenade and the new MUNCH Museum. The area will also function as a wooden dock for visitors arriving by boat towards Akerselva, and as a quay for future museum boats. The little meadow where The Mother will be placed will consist of local wildflowers and plants, and will be a food source for bees. This initiative is in line with Oslo as an eco-city and will also contribute to biodiversity.

With the new MUNCH and the cultural hub of Bjørvika in the background, you can experience the new area while enjoying the view over the fjord.

The new area in Bjørvika, possibly named Inger Munchs pier. Image of the area May 2021. Photo: Istvan Virag, Agency of Cultural Affairs, the City of Oslo.

With the new MUNCH and the cultural hub of Bjørvika in the background, you can experience the new area while enjoying the view over the fjord. Photo: Iwan Baan

Reason for the delay

Because of the sculpture’s size, production has taken longer than the artist first envisioned. This is linked to the UK being hit particularly hard by the pandemic. The size of the sculpture also made transporting it from London more complicated than originally anticipated.

Facts about The Mother

• The Mother is a major new art attraction in Oslo which will open in late summer 2021.
• It was selected by a jury following an art competition in 2018 in which national and international artists were invited to take part.
• The artwork is made of bronze so that it will last for many decades and become a new art icon for Oslo on a par with “The Little Mermaid” in Copenhagen and “Sinnataggen” in Vigelandsparken.
• She will sit facing the fjord, at the outer point of the new MUNCH in Bjørvika, on a new 1,000-square metre plot. One thousand square metres of new Oslo.
• The figure of the woman is naked and vulnerable, yet also imposing and protective as she appears to protect people, the city and the MUNCH Museum.
• The artwork is large; it is nine metres tall and weighs several tonnes.
• Created by the renowned British artist Tracey Emin, it is her largest work to date.
• The project is a collaboration between several agencies in the City of Oslo: the Municipal Undertaking for Culture and Sports Facilities, the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Agency for Urban Environment, as well as MUNCH.