It started with one figure walking forward, before opening to an avalanche.
A sea of naked bodies slowly marching across Brisbane’s Story Bridge on Sunday as the first rays of light hit the steel beams.
Then, with the river twisting and turning below them, the 5500-strong crowd lay down.
“All I could think about was how cold it was because it had been raining,” Alarna Hodges, one of the participants, said.
“The concrete was freezing.
“Then they got us to roll onto our sides … that was really interesting as your face aligned with the next person’s butt.”
The bare manoeuvre was all a part of a gigantic piece of public art, co-ordinated by New York-based photographer Spencer Tunick.
“It’s beautiful to see all the different types of bodies come out and participate,” Mr Tunick said after the shoot.
“Different tonalities, different genders, we had trans participants and non-binary, people from the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies.
“This was the most diverse work I’ve ever done.”
The shoot was the centrepiece of Melt, a queer arts and culture festival set to run in the city until 10 November.
While people travelled from Sydney and South-East Asia to be a part of the historic photo, Mr Tunick said the crowd was predominantly made up of Brisbane residents.
“It was a Brisbane action,” he said.
“Unbelievably, Brisbane is not that conservative when it comes to real humans and the body and art.”
Mr Tunick has photographed people in the nude all over the world for 30 years.
This Brisbane-based series of works, called RISING TIDE, commemorates that anniversary.
‘Never gotten my bits out in public before’
For resident Dee Schmidt, the shoot was an opportunity just to feel more comfortable in her body.
“And to jump out of my personal space,” she said.
“I don’t mind being naked in my own personal space, or on the beach … but this just [allowed me] just to express myself as a naked canvas.
“That experience, you’re never going to do that again … be naked on the bridge, lying on your back.”
She said she was hoping Mr Tunick would one day return to Brisbane.
“Maybe a Gold Coast beach … or maybe up in the Great Barrier Reef would be great … just to show more of Queensland.”
Brett Jiggins said he took part in Mr Tunick’s 2010 work at the Sydney Opera House and that this year’s event felt “absolutely normal” after that experience.
“I just believe in everybody being the same under the skin,” he said.
“So, for me, it was all about inclusivity and showing that we’re all the same.”
Brisbane Powerhouse and Melt Festival artistic director Kate Gould said it was “a triumph” the event ran smoothly, as it had taken a year and hundreds of organisers to pull together.
“We had to deliver. I really think it was a very smooth result when you consider obstacles to make an event like this happen,” she said.
Ms Gould said the team and participants would be “waiting with bated breath” to see the finished pieces.
“We never quite know when [Spencer’s] ready,” she said.
“The finished piece will be revealed to the public at a time in due course and we’re not going to reveal yet where that’s going to happen.”
Participant Alarna Hodges can’t wait to see final piece, as it represents the time she was “completely out of [her] comfort zone”.
She said she had “never gotten my bits out in public before”, but the event had given her confidence to expand her hobbies.
“It would have to be a little bit wilder now, a little bit crazier,” she said.
“Being a nude model in a life drawing class has always been on my bucket list.
“It’s very liberating. It’s given me the confidence to just be myself and show myself.”
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The remark about nonbinary etc people participating how can you tell the difference once you have your kit off you are male or female
This is all about being oneself. It proves that nudity is not just about being in the buff but also about being free of restrictions. Good luck to all those who participated.