Nude beach: Thousands pose naked in Australian photo shoot to raise skin cancer awareness

Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY
·2 min read
30
Members of the public pose at sunrise for photographic artist Spencer Tunick at Bondi Beach on November 26, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. US artist and photographer Spencer Tunick created the nude installation using thousands of volunteers posing at sunrise on Bondi Beach, commissioned by charity Skin Check Champions to raise awareness of skin cancer and to coincide with National Skin Cancer Action Week.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

About 2,500 people were invited to pose naked at an Australia beach early Saturday, in a photo shoot aimed at raising awareness about skin cancer.

U.S. photographer Spencer Tunick, who is famous for large-scale nude photography around the world, partnered with Australian nonprofit Skin Check Champions to organize the "Strip Off for Skin Cancer" photo shoot at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

The photo shoot arrived at sunrise on the last day of Australia's National Skin Cancer Action Week. According to Skin Check Champions, each of the participants was set to "represent one of the 2,500+ Aussies who are tragically killed by skin cancer every year. A statistic we are determined to eliminate."

As of 2020, Australia had the highest rates of both melanoma skin cancer and non-melanoma skin cancer in the world, World Cancer Research Fund International notes.

Research: New cancer therapy takes personalized medicine to a new level 

Saturday's photo shoot participation was free, the Skin Check Campions' website said, but the volunteers were also encouraged to "raise funds and awareness" for the national skin check program.

Hundreds of nude people pose for artist and photographer Spencer Tunick on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022.
Hundreds of nude people pose for artist and photographer Spencer Tunick on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022.

"We have an opportunity to raise awareness about skin checks and I'm honoured ... to come here, make my art and just celebrate the body and protection," Tunick said at the Sydney beach on Saturday, per Reuters. Tunick also shared footage of the shoot on his Instagram @spencertunick.

"The urgency of skin cancer checks hit home when the cancer of a young woman who had signed up to participate in my artwork turned terminal. She would not live to take part," Tunick wrote in a statement emailed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

According to the BBC, legislation was changed to allow public nudity on the Bondi Beach for the first time.

2021: After social media sites banned Vienna museums for nude artwork, they turned to OnlyFans 

What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day 

Tunick has organized over 100 temporary installations in iconic places worldwide –including the Dead Sea, Sydney Opera House, a Swiss glacier and Mexico City’s Zocalo Plaza – with dozens, hundreds or thousands of volunteers, according to the photographer's website.

Artist and photographer Spencer Tunick, right, stands next to models covering themselves with large leaves, as he talks about his next project at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022.
Artist and photographer Spencer Tunick, right, stands next to models covering themselves with large leaves, as he talks about his next project at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022.

Contributing: Camille Fine, USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thousands pose nude at Australian beach in Spencer Tunick photo shoot