Scissors is part of a portfolio of fourteen dry point etchings by Louise Bourgeois, collectively titled “Autobiographical Series.” A version of a drawing (untitled), that represents the umbilical cord that ties the little one to the big one.
The scissors are symbolic – emotional repair and restoration. Autobiographical as she comes from a family of tapestry restorers.
There is a strong element of nostalgia in her work, based on memory and to an extent and recounting her early years.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bourgeois-scissors-p77686