Seldom do works of art – even public art – arrive with such a weight of expectation, or burden of proving themselves, as Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros, the National Gallery of Australia’s newest artwork. No sooner had it been announced, back in 2021, than its price tag – $14m, the highest price the gallery has ever paid for a single work – became the subject of controversy, criticised as extravagant and reckless spending, a “scandalous abuse” of public funds. Lee’s design was disparaged, and likened to “a large sliced bagel, with poppy seeds”.
Three years later, ahead of the work’s official unveiling on Thursday in Kamberri/Canberra, NGA director Nick Mitzevich is philosophical about the initial reactions. “When you announce a commission, and the only thing that you can define upfront is the price, of course that will occupy the initial discussions,” he says. “Now that the work is in place, people can judge and can make assessments [based on] the experience of the work; its materiality and the impact that it has.”
