James Turrell "Within without" Skyspace

James Turrell’s *Within without* is an immersive Skyspace in the Australian Garden on the south side of the National Gallery building in Kingston, Canberra. Commissioned by the National Gallery, it is one of the American artist’s largest and most complex works of this kind, using light to change how the sky is seen.

The work is reached along a long, sloping walkway. Inside, a large square-based pyramid has soft red-ochre walls, with a Victorian basalt stupa rising at the centre and turquoise water around it. Within the stupa is a simple domed viewing chamber open to the sky. A moonstone set into the floor mirrors the oculus above, creating a considered relationship between the ground and the sky overhead.

This is a place for slowing down and paying close attention. Within the chamber, light can appear more painterly, while movement and sound feel heightened; the sky may seem to shimmer and pulsate. The work is described as especially dramatic at dawn and dusk, when night changes into day or day gives way to night. It suits visitors interested in contemporary art, architecture, light and quiet observation, whether visiting alone, with a partner or as part of a small group. The Australian Garden listing identifies the experience as free and daily.