overing, nine metres above me on wiry legs of steely elegance , 1999, Louise Bourgeois’ celebrated spider sculpture, a metaphor for her mother, greets me as I arrive at the AGNSW forecourt. Momentarily, pulls me into a play of scale, a frequent tactic in Bourgeois’ work. I become aware of my size in comparison to the sculpture, a reversal of the usual size difference. Today though, I am also aware of reviewing the work of an artist of the calibre and renown of Bourgeois. She is a
