200 naked bodies

On October 18th, 2021, about 200 white-painted volunteers laid naked in front of the Dead Sea in the Israeli town of Arad. The idea was born from the desire of the American artist Spencer Tunick to raise public awareness about climate change.

Tunick is a 54-year-old photographer, famous worldwide for having made several arti installations with naked bodies as subjects. In his latest project, he wanted to raise the alarm on the disastrous consequences of climate change, which is irreversibly worsening the situation of our planet.

With the idea of representing grains of salt, Tunick asked 200 volunteers to pose for his project, completely painted white and completely naked. The Red Sea is, in fact, rapidly suffering the damage of global warming, which is causing it to dissolve leaving behind a desert of salt grains.

Placed on the roof of a vehicle and holding a megaphone, Tunick has thus directed the actions of these people gathered with the common concern for the environmental crisis in which we are heading.

But this is not the first time that the American photographer has expressed himself on this issue in this way. This year’s installation was the third of its kind, five years after the previous one. In fact, in 2011 and in 2016 he took some photographs of naked models too; the difference that he noticed, however, is that from time to time the Red Sea appeared increasingly drier, leaving behind a gaping hole and fresh sand.

The main reason why people painted white is to recall the Bible scene in which Lot’s Wife is transformed into a salt statue after disobeying Jehovah. Salt therefore has always played an important role; it is a fundamental necessity of life and has been used since ancient times in many cultures to preserve, disinfect and as a component of offering and exchange the ceremonies.

And you, do you find that this is an effective way to raise awareness about climate change? Let us know in the comments.

Articolo a cura di: Marijana Jovanovic