Mass nude event to take over Brisbane landmark next month

Thousands of naked Australians will shut down an iconic capital city landmark next month. Here’s what they should expect. WARNING: Nudity.

Thousands of naked Australians will descend on Brisbane’s iconic Story Bridge next month, for American photographer Spencer Tunick’s latest large-scale installation.

Tunick uses naked human bodies en masse in his works, and is a frequent visitor to our shores, previously enlisting brave Aussies to pose in the buff on the steps of the Sydney Opera House and, more recently, on Bondi Beach at dawn (keep reading for an on-the-ground account of that particular stunt).

To be titled RISING TIDE, his next work will take place on Story Bridge on Sunday October 27, with the bridge closed to traffic for an installation that will “feature thousands of live nude figures in celebration of diversity, equity, inclusion and Brisbane’s vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and allies.”

A shot from Tunick’s 2023 visit. Picture: Spencer Tunick.

A previous Brisbane photo shoot. Picture: Spencer Tunick.

It’s been announced today that Tunick will also display his debut Australian projected video exhibition from his TIDE series, which was created during his first visit to Brisbane last year.

Showing at Brisbane Powerhouse from September 28 to November 10, the TIDE Exhibition will be the first time Tunick’s work from his Brisbane visit will be on show to the public.

Next month, Brisbane’s Story Bridge is going to look a lot more … fleshy. Picture: Brisbane City Council

Working for the past 30 years, Tunick has organised more than 100 installations around the world, amassing an eager following of people wanting to participate in his mass artworks.

His 2022 Bondi Beach installation drew 2500 participants for a chilly pre-dawn start, while in 2010 he managed to gather 5000 eager subjects to the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

A sea of naked participants brave the cold at the Sydney Opera House in 2010 Picture: Spencer Tunick.

During a 2018 Melbourne visit to stage an installation on the roof of a Woolies car park, Tunick explained his working style for shoots, which typically take place at daybreak.

“When people are naked and it’s cold, I work as if I feel like there are police behind me trying to arrest me,” he said.

You can register to take part in Spencer Tunick’s RISING TIDE artwork here.

What’s it really like to be in a Spencer Tunick artwork?

Tunick and his faithful took over Bondi Beach in 2022. Picture: Don Arnold/WireImage

I was one of the 2500-odd Sydneysiders who fronted up to Bondi Beach in the early hours of the morning in November 2022 to participate in Tunick’s latest installation.

The very early start time meant around a 3:30am wake-up and a slightly nervous cab ride to Bondi Beach, where my partner and I found hundreds of other soon-to-be nude models, all huddled quietly (and clothed) in the sand like penguins.

There was a long wait until finally, the earliest pre-dawn light broke over the horizon – and suddenly, we were on.

Tunick and his team corralled us and as one, several thousand people rose to their feet, quickly disrobed, threw our clothes into bags and wandered south down the beach, ready to strike a pose.

Saluting the sun in Bondi, 2022. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

A few curious locals (and a couple of dodgy-looking lone blokes with cameras – who knows what website we might’ve ended up on) looked on as we followed Tunick’s instructions for the next 45 minutes or so.

Was it sexual? Not at all. Serene? Absolutely – and even a bit spiritual, standing at the water’s edge among thousands of strangers as the first warm rays of the day’s sun hit our bodies.

One tip: If you’re going to be a part of a Spencer Tunick artwork, especially one involving water, positioning is important.

Tunick’s instruction that we all lay naked on the cold wet sand took some convincing. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty

The braver few that you can see in the photos above waded knee-deep into the ocean for one shot: Fun for a minute or two, less pleasant as he waves picked up and they were stuck standing still with cold water bashing them in the privates while they waited for Tunick to get his perfect shot.

By the time the shoot was done – by this time, with a lot more locals on the sidelines having a gander – many of the throng were reluctant to put their clothes back on, running into the surf for a quick skinny dip and sunning themselves on the sand.

To the Spencer-curious, wondering whether they have the nerve to strip off on Brisbane’s Story Bridge next month, I say: Go for it.

Just don’t forget where you put your bag of clothes.