Calile Culture is a series of events and conversations that connects our community of locals and guests from afar by encouraging engagement, physical connection, appreciation, discourse and learning across all forms of creative expression.
The Calile Hotel is proud to announce an official partnership with the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) to help extend and celebrate creativity and to connect our community with art and inspiration beyond the confines of the gallery space.
To launch this special partnership you are invited to attend a one-off occasion with artist Lindy Lee AO, in conversation with NGA Director Nick Mitzevich, Urban Art Projects (UAP) Founder and Managing Director Matt Tobin and NGA Head of Australian Art Deborah Hart as they take us on the journey of creating an extraordinary public sculpture, Ouroboros – soon to start its own journey from Brisbane to Canberra for its unveiling at the NGA in October.
Ouroboros is an installation work based on the ancient image of a snake eating its tail, spanning cultures and millennia – the symbol of eternal return, of cycles of birth, death, and renewal. Lee’s practice thoughtfully investigates the connection between humanity, nature and the cosmos, and is symbolically enacted in Ouroboros through the physical act of entering the ‘mouth’ and navigating the curved internal spaces. Inviting viewers to be immersed in patterns of light and shadow and physically embodying a connection to an eternal cycle of creation and renewal.
Externally, the mirror-like surface will reflect the day-today outward movement and cycle of the world. Reflecting on the transience of an ever changing, yet concurrently ever the same universe. At night the Ouroboros will be lit internally, returning its light to the world.
Commissioned by the NGA for its 40th anniversary and nearing completion, the sculpture is monolithic in scale and is currently in fabrication locally at the UAP Foundry in Brisbane. Anticipated to extend approximately four metres into the sky and weigh 13 tonnes, Ouroboros will be positioned at the entrance to the gallery and become a powerful welcome to visitors to both the nation’s capital and Australia’s National Gallery.
Before Ouroboros journeys to its new southern home, The Calile will host a conversation to uncover its local creation story with the artist, the custodians and the makers.
“We are extremely proud and excited to share this unique opportunity with Brisbane and an engaged community that are curious to peek behind the curtain at the creative commitment, intense effort and dedication it takes to transform ideas into tangible and meaningful art,“ said Calile Co-Owner Catherine Malouf.
“Partnering with the National Gallery of Australia will allow us to develop, share and shape cultural experiences here at The Calile for our community, allowing us to offer engaging, stimulating and at times surprising interactions.”
The National Gallery is delighted to partner with The Calile Hotel on the Calile Culture series. Our aim is to think beyond the walls of the Gallery and share art with communities all across Australia. Working with The Calile Hotel we can share the extraordinary story of Brisbane artist, Lindy Lee and her work, with the Brisbane community,” said NGA Director Nick Mitzevich.
