When internationally renowned art photographer Spencer Tunick assembled 5,500 brave bare-all souls and snapped them on the Opera House steps during the 2010 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, the beautiful result made headlines the world over. He returned to Australian shores in 2018 to snap a bunch more nude volunteers on a Melbourne car park roof during Provocaré Festival.
Although the New Yorker's keen eye has turned to Australia once more, sadly restrictions on international travel mean he can't come here in person. But we are the first country invited to take part in his new digital platform version, Stay Apart Together. Using a chat room as his canvas, he's looking for 100 participants from our great southern land to hop online, get naked and pose for him.
To take part, you need to be 18+ and can then register interest by emailing a photo (nude optional) to StayApartTogetherAustralia@gmail.com. If called up, you’ll be asked to join a video conference with up to 100 other folks, with Tunick directing participants' poses then screen-shotting the results.
“As photographers and artists working with groups of people, we need to learn how to adapt and not be stifled by limitations during these trying times,” Tunick says. “New ways of connectivity will evolve, creating innovative human connectivity with social distancing in mind. The desire to make art communally still burns hot.”
All body shapes and backgrounds are welcome, with Stay Apart Together his first work directed completely online. Once the work is complete, it will be proudly displayed on his Instagram account @spencertunick
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This article is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
