5,200 Stripped Naked At The Opera House, Sydney
Naked Sydneysiders of all shapes, sizes and colours gathered on the steps of the Sydney Opera House this morning to be the subjects of an art installation.
Spencer Tunick, who is famous for his massive nude group photos in public spaces, posed around 5,200 naked participants for more than an hour in a variety of positions – including getting them to embrace each other.
As the sun rose, Tunick instructed participants to do a number of poses, from standing up, lying down, and even embracing cheek to cheek. They disrobed for Spencer Tunick’s work called The Base, which is part of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
Those taking part included rugby league players, doctors, teachers and a woman pregnant with twins who will be induced later today.
Tunick has produced almost 100 nude installations around the world, and says his work is not about exhibitionism or eroticism but instead reveals the vulnerability of life in a rough city landscape.
But that argument has not impressed authorities at home in the United States, where Tunick has been arrested seven times.
His largest installation was in Mexico on May 6, 2007, where he photographed 18,000 people In Mexico city’s Zocalo Square.
