US-based photographer Spencer Tunick is known for creating grand installations with thousands of naked human bodies. Earlier this month, Tunick responded to a brief from a museum in Hull by gathering a crowd of 3200 people in the British town. With their bodies painted blue, the participants clustered together to raise awareness about rising sea levels and climate change.
Speaking to the Guardian, Tunick said the installation represented the idea that bodies and humanity are flooding the streets. “The natural, soft vulnerable body that’s up against the concrete world – it creates a dynamic that interests me,” he was quoted as saying.
The three-hour shoot saw people of all ages, sizes and walks of life gather together for a common purpose. “I was very surprised to see so many older people take part and so many people who had problems walking – wheelchairs, crutches, leg braces,” the photographer said. “They were resilient and we had young and old and I am so thankful to them.”
The photographs will be displayed in the local Ferens Art Museum in 2017. Hull was recently named as a 2017 U.K. City of Culture.
