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Spencer Tunick’s latest art installation saw 2,500 naked people take to Bondi Beach on Saturday.
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The Guardian reported that the photo shoot was to raise awareness about skin cancer.
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A nude model told The Guardian that the experience was “freezing” but also “empowering”.
Two thousand five hundred naked people filled Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, on Saturday morning in the name of Spencer Tunick’s latest art installation.
The photo shoot aimed to raise awareness of skin cancer, with the 2,500-strong crowd representing the number of Australians who die from the disease each year, The Guardian reported.
According to the outlet, Tunick hopes to encourage regular skin checks among Australians.
“Skin unites us and protects us,” he told The Guardian. “I use the amazing array of body types and skin tones to create my work, so it feels completely appropriate to participate in this effort as my medium is the nude human form.”
According to The Guardian, the artist used a megaphone to instruct the audience during the recording. “Put your arms out when you pose,” he shouted. “Don’t get undressed just yet.”
Tunick had the group pose in various configurations before some took a morning dip in the sea, The Print added.
Nudity is usually prohibited on the beach, but special legislation has been put in place to allow for the photo shoot. According to The Guardian, participants had to be fully clothed by 10 a.m. to avoid a fine.
Writing about taking part in the shoot for The Sydney Morning Herald, Tamera Francis wrote: “If I can be a part of something that prevents unnecessary deaths, I will. Even if it means freezing the little tatas I have and dealing with the logistical nightmare that is herding thousands of uncaffeinated naked people,” she wrote.
“If I could have prevented my father’s and my grandmother’s fatal cancer diagnosis with something as simple as a skin check or wearing sunscreen every day, I would,” she added.
Another nude model, Sarah Bowen, told the Guardian that her sister and father had survived melanoma.
Of her experience with the nude shoot, she said: “It was freezing cold, but it also gave me strength to support the cause with so many people and also just be naked and see so many different people and shapes and sizes. Everyone just feels on his ease naked. It was amazing.”
Tunick is no stranger to a nude photo shoot. In 2010, he gathered 5,000 naked Australians in front of the Sydney Opera House to celebrate Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Reuters previously reported.
Read the original article on Insider
