Welcome to the documentary in the studio from the BBC World Service, the program that investigates the creative process. I'm Mia Hull.

Could everyone repeat after me? Yoma.

Yoma. Come on when we can do better. Yuma. Yuma. Yoma is how you say hello or good day in the Nannibal language,

and this is a gift from our elders,

and I encourage you to use it throughout your day.

You may not be aware, but Canberra,

in our language, means meeting place.

Canberra is Australia's national capital, home to its national gallery.

Nearly four years ago, the gallery made headlines when it handed down a $14 million commission.

It was the most a single artist had ever been given to make a work.

Now, it's being unveiled to the public.

It's called Ouroboros.

The Oroboris is a snake that swallows its own tail.

That's the artist, Lindy Lee.

The diameter of this sculpture is about nine metres,

and it's about 4.2 meters tall at its mouth.

There is a tail that feeds into the opening

and she is made of stainless steel.

She weighs 13 tons.

There are 45,000 perforations through the skin of the snake

and those perforations when you enter the belly of the snake become this vast

constellation of the Milky Way. Like many pieces of art, her creation is a story of planning,

...