Sophie Tea: Instagram artist creates live naked window display at Manly gallery
The northern beaches has never seen anything quite like it. Sophie Tea, a viral Instagram artist with a turnover of more than $2.3 million, created a live naked window display at her new gallery in Manly.
Manly
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Manly has not seen anything quite like it before – 25 ladies in the CBD celebrating the female form by wearing little more than a few splashes of paint.
The women of all shapes and sizes were turned into pieces of art by Sophie Tea, a viral Instagram artist originally from the UK.
The 27-year-old, whose partner lives in Australia, spends several months of the year in Manly and has now opened her first shop here.
To mark the occasion she asked her Instagram followers to volunteer to be part of a naked window display, and received a huge response from her Australian fans.
“Some were a little scared at first, but then they absolutely loved it,” The artist, whose real name is Sophie Terry, said.
“When they were painted they felt super empowered.
“It took four hours to paint them all and we had so much fun.
“There was a small crowd outside watching.”
She said a similar event in London attracted 900 applicants with one who was chosen so moved by the experience she set up a body positivity business.
“It is a way of giving back,” Ms Terry said.
The young artist has seen extraordinary success with her current line of hearts and nudes artworks.
She deciding to follow a career as an artist after an inspiring trip to India five years ago, following a business degree.
She said her turnover in the UK where most of her art is sold is the equivalent of around $2.3m Australian dollars a year.
She said the business – which employs five people in the UK – really took off about 18 months ago.
Her large nude portraits command a price of $11,000.
Ms Terry shuns art galleries preferring to showcase her work on her Instagram account @sophieteaart.
She said her 104,000 followers are very supportive.
“I have an authentic casual presence online and I involve everyone in the process,” she said.
“When I wanted to start painting nudes I asked my followers for nude pictures of themselves and I got 1000 overnight.”
The official opening of the studio is on Thursday.
Ms Terry said she chose the name Sophie Tea because is sounded cooler than Sophie Terry – and because she loves tea.
She said people are welcome to come and say hello and if they would like book an appointment, or to have a cup of tea with her and look at her art.
The Tea Gallery and Studio is in Sydney Rd.