The National Gallery of Australia unveils Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros, the immersive sculpture based on the ancient image of the snake eating its own tail is set to welcome visitors to the National Gallery for generations to come.
The ouroboros is an image seen across cultures and millennia, exemplifying a symbol of eternal return, of cycles of birth, death and renewal – common themes seen throughout the Chinese-Australian artist’s 40-year artistic career.
During the day, Ouroboros’ mirrored surface reflects the imagery of the floating world, the transience of passers-by, cars, birds in flight and passing clouds. The large-scale work of art levitates in a 240-square metre pond with a walkway guiding people into the ‘mouth’ of the sculpture. Lee has created a meditative rest place for visitors with seating nestled throughout the surrounding native garden landscape. At night, Ouroborosilluminates, beaming light back to the world through 45,000 perforations in its highly polished steel frame creating an effect of delicacy and transcendence.
Lindy Lee AO: ‘I am elated to invite everyone to experience Ouroboros, which I hope becomes a beacon for visitors to the National Gallery. This work is about the cosmos – the open sky that we all belong to – and when you enter Ouroboros, I want you to feel something – a deep connection to something which is much larger than any of us as individuals. I am eternally grateful to every single person who helped me bring what was just an idea in my head, to life.’
Dr Nick Mitzevich, National Gallery Director: ‘The National Gallery is honoured to finally unveil Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros, her most ambitious public sculpture and a significant addition to the national collection. Commissioned in 2022 in celebration of the National Gallery’s 40th anniversary, the work is an exemplar of the ingenuity and creativity that the national collection strives to encapsulate. Enabling leading Australian artists to create works of ambition and elevating Australian art is an important priority for the National Gallery. Lee was asked to be ambitious in her vision for this project and she has exceeded our expectations with Ouroboros. We are excited to present a work that reinvigorates the National Sculpture Garden and that feels emblematic of the times.’
Main Image: Lindy Lee, Ouroboros. Courtesy NGA
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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