Ouroboros
(2023)
Medium
wood, paper, binder, marble dust, stain wax
Measurements
319.4 × 296.0 × (53.5) cm (installed) Weight: approx. 80kgs
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased with funds donated by Susan Jones and James McGrath, 2024
© Heather B Swann
Gallery location
Gallery 9
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
Heather B. Swann’s figurative sculptures often resemble human or animal bodies that are slightly altered, with a tendency towards surrealism and abstraction. This coiled black figure is known as an ouroboros, an arcane symbol associated with various ancient cultures, including Celtic, Egyptian and Greek. Depicted consuming its own tail, the ouroboros often represents self-reflexivity, the cyclical nature of existence, and the eternal cycle of life and death. Swann’s rendition captures not only the mysticism and eternal continuity inherent to this ancient emblem, but also the darker undertones of self-destruction and regeneration.