Lindy Lee's $14m masterpiece, Ouroboros, unveiled

The polished stainless steel sculpture stands about four metres high - so big it's possible to walk inside - and is marked with thousands of small perforations.

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During the day, it reflects passers-by, while at night it is lit from within, pulsing light back into the world, according to the artist.

Ouroboros represents a snake eating its tail, an ancient symbol of renewal, or the eternal cycle of life.

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The sculpture was fabricated in Brisbane and trucked to Canberra in a massive operation that took about a week.

Lee is a leading contemporary artist who has been working for more than four decades and has exhibited her work worldwide.

Sydney and Adelaide residents will already be familiar with her public sculpture, with smaller stainless steel works installed outside the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of South Australia.