Brisbane is the city that gave us Boy Swallows Universe – and now we have Being Swallowed by the Milky Way.

The title is similarly celestial but this one has nothing to do with Trent Dalton. It’s the work of another Brisbane superstar, artist Lindy Lee.

Her latest work, Being Swallowed by the Milky Way, has had a glittering unveiling ahead of the first phase of The Star Brisbane and Queen’s Wharf staged opening from August 29.

The stunning 8m-high, 8000kg oblong sculpture features 25,000 tiny holes puncturing the bronze surface to appear as a shimmering, light-filled galaxy of silver and gold stars. It resides at the George Street entrance to The Star Brisbane and is part of the transformational $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane precinct.

Lindy Lee, a painter and sculptor of Chinese heritage, is the hottest artist in Australia right now. The unveiling of Being Swallowed by the Milky Way comes not long after Lee made headlines for the transport of her $14 million commission Ouroboros to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). This required an almost week-long journey from Brisbane to Canberra involving road closures and police escorts. Lee travelled in the truck with Ouroboros, which  is set to go on display to the public in October at the NGA.

That major work was built at the internationally renowned Urban Art Projects at Northgate in Brisbane. While  Ouroboros was being made, Being Swallowed by the Milky Way was also being created at the renowned art foundry.

Lee was on hand on Tuesday evening, August 20, for the unveiling of the new work. Brisbane born and raised, Lee moved away to chart a stellar art career. She now lives in northern NSW but is a regular visitor to Brisbane, a city she has fallen in love with all over again. Her new sculpture is very much a product of her hometown.

“In my early childhood, growing up in Kangaroo Point and Morningside, I was fascinated by the magic of starlight,” Lee says. “I loved looking at the night sky, to be deeply immersed in the mystery of that and somehow that feeling imbues all my work.

“It’s so fitting that Being Swallowed by the Milky Way is being installed in my birth city. Emotionally and spiritually, that is very important to me. I feel extremely proud to be part of Brisbane’s growth as a city. The Brisbane I grew up in during the ’60s and ’70s was insular, but now it is a city that embraces its own unique history and celebrates its growing cosmopolitanism and rich diversity.

“Being Swallowed by the Milky Way is a sculpture I’ve had in my mind for over a decade, even before Ouroboros for the NGA. It’s quite wonderful that these two very major works are going to be unveiled within months of each other. I am now 70. It feels like these works are a culmination of a lifetime’s experience and so they become part of the cultural legacy I am leaving for Australia.”

Highly regarded art figure Philip Bacon, whose eponymous Fortitude Valley gallery is regarded as Australia’s finest, led the specialist artistic advisory panel that has curated a $13 million collection of artworks – by local, First Nations and international artists – to feature across the 7.5ha of public space within the Queen’s Wharf precinct, including waterfront areas by the Brisbane River.

“Lindy Lee is arguably Australia’s greatest sculptor and her work is known and sought after, both nationally and internationally,” Bacon says. “To have such a major and exquisite sculpture in a prominent place, viewable day and night by the public, is a coup for any city. We are fortunate that it’s here in Brisbane.

“Lindy’s magnum opus Ouroboros is Australia’s most expensive commissioned artwork and will change people’s perception of both the National Gallery of Australia and the art of sculpture. In the same way, The Star’s commission of Being Swallowed by the Milky Way will change how the people of Brisbane view public art in our cityscape. It is in another realm by way of scale, beauty and technique.”

The Star Brisbane CEO Daniel Finch says Lee’s sculpture is an integral part of a multi-million-dollar collection of public artworks that will help elevate Brisbane’s standing as a cultural city.

“We are thrilled to unveil the Lindy Lee masterpiece as we count down to the staged opening of The Star Brisbane and Queen’s Wharf,” Finch says. “It will be a must-visit attraction in its own right. All of the artworks will be showcased to millions of people who will visit us for years to come, including for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“This will complement the South Bank precinct a short walk across the Neville Bonner Bridge, helping further position Brisbane, not just as an Olympic city but as a vibrant cultural playground. We are excited to be preparing to open a world-class tourism and entertainment destination that locals will be proud of, and interstate and international visitors will want to visit.”

Queen’s Wharf Brisbane is being developed by Destination Brisbane Consortium – a joint venture led by The Star Entertainment Group alongside its Hong Kong-based partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium.

queenswharfbrisbane.com.au