Spencer Tunick is an artist who has made a name for himself by getting nude – well, asking lots of people to get nude for him.
The US artist is returning to Australia for his latest project as part of MELT Festival. It will pair the premiere of his latest project TIDE, which was first created on Brisbane’s Story Bridge, on 18 November 2023, with a monumental second installation of RISING TIDE on the Bridge, on Sunday 27 October 2024.
“Creating TIDE was a very special experience, and I hope the exhibition will speak to diverse groups of people. It is a privilege to be making art that centres on the LGBTQIA+ community with all its beauty and vibrance,” said Tunick of the project, in a formal statement.
This year marks Tunick’s 30th anniversary of documenting the live nude figure in public spaces, using photography and video. During that time, he has organised over 100 installations around the globe, involving thousands of participants.
He is again calling for volunteers to make his next image. You can sign up to be part of RISING TIDE – and in return, you will receive a print of the final artwork, taken by Tunick, as a gift of appreciation from Brisbane Powerhouse and MELT.
The bridge will be temporarily closed for this major art event, which will feature thousands of live nude figures in celebration of diversity, equity, inclusion, and Brisbane’s vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and allies.
Brisbane Powerhouse Program Manager and TIDE and RISING TIDE Curator, Emmie Paranthoiene says, “Many of the participants at TIDE expressed the joy and positive power of acceptance they felt from taking part in the installation. We hope that thousands more people will have the same experience when Spencer creates RISING TIDE on the Story Bridge on Sunday 27 October.”
An Australian debut exhibition
While Tunick has worked in Australia a number of times now, this is the first time he will present a major exhibition.
Brisbane Powerhouse is working with MELT Festival to present the TIDE Exhibition, which has been described as a projected video exhibition.
It will be the first time that participants can gaze upon themselves – well, if they can find themselves in a sea of flesh.
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What drives Tunick’s compulsion to frock off
Tunick has been documenting the nude figures in public en masse since 1992, in some of the most iconic and dramatic locations across the world – both natural and man-made. The mass group is always unclothed, and are intended to challenge notions of nudity and privacy, rather than inciting voyeurism or debates around sexuality. What they do, is unify people.
The outcome – a photograph or video piece – is what remains of these ephemeral events. In them Tunick stages the crowd so that the bodies almost become a landscape in themselves, flowing and melding together in a seamless form.
A participant in the first installation of TIDE on Story Bridge last year, said, “My body has worn many years of factory jobs. I love the oneness of spirit Spencer brings out among diverse people with disparate beauty in public.”
In many ways they lose their intimacy for the individual, while creating a shared connection that has its own sense of intimacy created through a bond.
In more recent years Tunick has instructed his group of sitters to take a standing position, or to lie down – working against the conventions of traditional portrait photography. While the primary message is one that pushes against stereotypes of identity, Tunick also advocates to elevate acceptance and awareness around cancer, HIV/AIDS, LGBTQIA+ rights, as well as other considerations such as climate change and the built environment.
The TIDE Exhibition will be showing from 28 September – 10 November at Brisbane Powerhouse. This is a MELT Festival 2024 event.
