By Liz Hobday
It’s the biggest thing artist Lindy Lee has ever done – not to mention the biggest thing the National Gallery of Australia has ever done.
The gallery’s $14 million commission, Ouroboros, was unveiled in Canberra on Thursday to mark the venue’s 40th anniversary.
The polished stainless steel sculpture stands about four metres high – so big it’s possible to walk inside – and is marked with thousands of small perforations.
During the day, it reflects passers-by, while at night it is lit from within, pulsing light back into the world, according to the artist.
Ouroboros represents a snake eating its tail, an ancient symbol of renewal, or the eternal cycle of life.
The sculpture was fabricated in Brisbane and trucked to Canberra in a massive operation that took about a week.
Lee is a leading contemporary artist who has been working for more than four decades and has exhibited her work worldwide.
Sydney and Adelaide residents will already be familiar with her public sculpture, with smaller stainless steel works installed outside the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of South Australia.
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