SOMETIMES, dear readers, when I hear about great give-aways I’ve been known to avail myself of them before alerting the broader public.

But in a first for me I have gone and bought my ticket for the exhibition in an exhibtion being staged as part of the much anticipated James Turrell retrospective at the National Gallery.

To put some perspective on this; working media rarely pay for tickets to anything, event stagers give us tickets because they want the coverage. But I’m taking not chances with this one. I’ve got my confirmation from Ticketek and you’re going to have to rush to grab one of the 15 minute slots.

Ticketed describe it thusly:

This ticket includes entry to the exhibition and a Perceptual cell session.

Bindu shards 2010
From the outside, a large fibreglass sphere, entry stairs with a railing, control panel and white-coated attendants give the work a medical feel.

You will be required to sign a waiver and relinquish your belongings before lying down on a bed and being slid into the sphere.

The intense, 8-10 minute cycle is three-dimensional, a body kaleidoscope with high-speed flashing ever-changing patterns and colours.

The Perceptual cell is an immersive installation and can only accommodate one viewer at a time every 15 minutes. Sold out months ahead in LA, advance bookings are essential.

At over $3 a minute it’s one of the most expensive entertainments ever devised and I’m frankly thrilled to have snared a ticket for opening week.