Moments of Zen
Meet Lindy Lee, the artist behind the immersive public sculpture Ouroboros at the National Gallery of Australia.
Lindy Lee (2023) by Josef Ruckli and Lindy LeeNational Gallery of Australia
‘My work is all about time… The primary truth is that everything changes from moment to moment – nothing is permanent.'
– Lindy Lee
Lindy Lee is one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists. With a practice spanning more than four decades, Lee's work explores her Chinese ancestry through Taoism and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism — philosophies that see humanity and nature as inextricably linked.
In Lee's work, symbolic gestures and processes that call on the element of chance are used to produce a galaxy of images that embody the connections between human existence and the cosmos.
A practicing Buddhist since the early 1990s, Lee says that "Zen practice directs me to something fundamental about being, which is that we are constantly in flux and change." This sense of transition, malleability and impermanence is reflected in her contemporary work.
The unconditioned (2020) by Lindy LEENational Gallery of Australia
Lee’s painterly techniques of wax splatters and ink spills reference the ancient Chinese practice of ‘flung ink painting', as performed by Ch'an (Zen) Buddhists.
The unconditioned (work in development) (2020) by Lindy LEENational Gallery of Australia
Lee has also developed these gestures into sculptural forms by throwing searing molten bronze on to the foundry floor, which embodies the Buddhist act of renewal where all that is held inside oneself is released.
"The practice of Buddhism is simply three things: pay attention, meet your life and be curious about it without judgement," – Lindy Lee
Lindy Lee at UAP Company, Brisbane (2022) by Photo: Josef Ruckli and Lindy LeeNational Gallery of Australia
Lee's art encompasses large-scale public works that invite viewers to immerse themselves in a profoundly meditative experience.
Lindy Lee video on her practice (2024) by National Gallery of AustraliaNational Gallery of Australia
Lindy Lee discusses her approach. The full video is available on the National Gallery of Australia’s YouTube channel.
'Meditation is so important to me…one of the most succinct descriptions of meditation is just being head, heart and body together.’ - Lindy Lee
Lindy Lee Meditating (2024) by National Gallery of AustraliaNational Gallery of Australia
Follow a guided mediation led by Lindy Lee.
Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros was commissioned to celebrate the National Gallery’s 40th anniversary in 2022 and is now open to the public, free, 24 hours a day.
To complement the opening of the work, an exhibition featuring highlights from across the artist’s career runs from 25 Oct 2024 – 1 Jun 2025 at the National Gallery of Australia.
