Ouroboros: Australia’s Most Expensive Public Artwork

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Ouroboros: Australia’s Most Expensive Public Artwork
Ouroboros is a stunning addition to the national capital’s cultural attractions.

Ouroboros, Lindy Lee’s monumental sculpture that now welcomes guests to the National Gallery of Australia, is the most expensive public artwork ever commissioned in Australia. For that reason alone, it will inevitably always be a talking point.

Yet so magnificent is this piece I feel sure anyone seeing it with their own eyes couldn’t fail to be impressed. Ouroboros is a stunning addition to the national capital’s cultural attractions and is certain to become a major drawcard for the Gallery and for Canberra.

We attended the unveiling of the sculpture, by the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, and felt very privileged to share in the camaraderie of the occasion.

During the creation of the work, Lindy Lee forged a strong connection with Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Jude Barlow, and their warm rapport was on display for all to see. Ouroboros is based on the ancient image of a snake eating its own tail, a symbol of infinity seen across culture and millennia.

Representing the cycles of birth, death and renewal, it’s a symbol that resonates with Lee, who has Chinese heritage and has been a practising Buddhist since the early 1990s. Together, the pair identified connections between Chinese and First Nations cultures including strong links between the ouroboros and the Rainbow Serpent.

Ouroboros: Australia’s Most Expensive Public Artwork
Beams of light stream in through 45,000 perforations.

Located at the entrance of the National Gallery, Ouroboros levitates in a pond with a walkway guiding visitors into the ‘mouth’ of the sculpture. The sculpture then curves around so the visitor can experience darkness illuminated by beams of light streaming in through 45,000 perforations.

It’s quite magical, and on a glorious sunny day like it was on the day of the sculpture’s unveiling, the highly polished steel surface is like a mirror, catching the light and throwing up reflections. All the pictures in this post were taken on that first day.

At night, the sculpture is illuminated and equally enchanting, beaming light back to the world through the perforations, creating a delicate, transcendental effect.

Artist Lindy Lee is a practising Buddhist.
Artist Lindy Lee and Ouroboros.

This imagery of the floating world — the transience of passers-by, cars, birds in flight and passing clouds – is a theme that runs through Lee’s work, in which Taoism and Zen Buddhism are consistent influences.

“Zen practice directs me to something fundamental about being, which is that we are constantly in flux and change,” says the artist, who was born in Brisbane and lives and works in the Byron Bay hinterland.

Standing four metres high and weighing 13 tonnes, Ouroboros is Lee’s most ambitious work to date. Commissioned in 2022 in celebration of the National Gallery’s 40th anniversary, the $14 million sculpture was fabricated at the Urban Art Projects foundry in Brisbane.

Produced from recycled materials sourced entirely from within Australia, it is one of Australia’s first sustainable works of public art. More than 200 people worked on the project over three years to bring Lee’s vision to life.

Abundance, a 24k gold model of Ouroboros, on loan from the Pallion Art Collection.
Abundance, a 24k gold model of Ouroboros, on loan from the Pallion Art Collection.

Other works from Lee’s 40-year artistic career are currently on show in a free exhibition which will be on display inside the Gallery until 1 June 2025. The Lindy Lee exhibition explores similar themes to Ouroboros, including ancestry, spirituality, the environment and the cosmos.

Bringing together sculpture, photography, and works on paper, the exhibition includes a soaring new installation, ‘Charred Forest’, and a stunning piece called ‘Abundance’. The latter is a model of Ouroboros made from 50 kilograms of 24 karat Australian gold. If the outdoor sculpture has you entranced, this shimmering work of beauty will be equally captivating.

Lee hopes that both the exhibition and the sculpture will invite people to meditate. To further that aim, seating is provided in the native garden landscape surrounding Ouroboros. “When you enter Ouroboros,” says Lee, “I want you to feel something – a deep connection to something which is much larger than any of us as individuals.”

National Gallery Ouroboros and Lindy Lee
Imagery of the floating world is a theme that runs through Lindy Lee’s work.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in our post on 10 Ways To Enjoy Lake Burley Griffin.

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