Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on October 26, 2022
US artist returns with nude art installation to raise awareness about skin cancer in Australia
There is no official news yet as to which Australian beach will be featured, but the famous Bondi beach could be it. Volunteers will be told about it a week prior to the day
US artist Spencer Tunick (Photo: Twitter/@SpencerTunick)
Art has often been used to make hard-hitting statements about social situations and problems, and famed US artist Spencer Tunick — who asks volunteers to strip naked — knows all too well how to use it to further important causes. He returns to Australia with another ‘nude installation’, which will happen in November at a beach in Sydney.
Tunick made the announcement on Instagram, stating that the installation has been commissioned by the charity ‘Skin Check Champions’ to raise awareness of skin cancer which, according to a Guardian report, coincides with National Skin Cancer Action Week; it will take place on November 26 in Sydney.
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According to the publication, this will be the fourth Australian project for Tunick, who reportedly gained global attention in 2010 for his Sydney Opera House installation that saw the participation of some 5,000 nude Australians as part of the ‘Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’.
For his latest, there is no official news yet as to which Australian beach will be featured, but the famous Bondi beach could be it, since the artist’s work is all about scale and famous landmarks. Volunteers will be told about it a week prior to the day.
Tunick was quoted as telling The Guardian that the secrecy about the location “involves tradition”. “I’m almost embarrassed to say this but [the secrecy] involves tradition. I have a little formula that works, that feels good. And these days and times, a week’s notice is like a year.”
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Scott Maggs, the founder of Skin Check Champions, said in a press release, as mentioned in a CNN report: “We’re aiming for a minimum of 2,000 participants to represent the 2,000+ Aussies that are killed by skin cancer every year. If the Sydney Opera House can get 5,500 on a cold morning in March 2010, we’re hoping to reach our goal of 2,500. Everyone is welcome to participate, we welcome all body types, genders, and race — with a passion to stop skin cancer in its tracks.”
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In October 2021, 300 male and female volunteers stripped naked while wearing white body paint for another artistic installation by Tunick, which was meant to draw attention to the shrinking Dead Sea. The shoot was promoted by Israel’s Tourism Ministry.
“My visit to Israel was an experience for me and I am always happy to return here and photograph in the only country in the Middle East that allows art such as this,” Tunick had said.
He did an earlier installation at the Dead Sea in 2011.
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