Even with stomachs full of butterflies, we girls downed a glass of wine (for nerves) and a delightfully large Cafe Rouge pudding each (for the hell of it), before crossing over to The Lowry on the launch night for Ordinary People. Just a few weeks earlier we’d all been butt naked in the name of art on those very stone flags and just the thought of it made us giggle as we headed in to see the exhibition. We didn’t quite know what to expect and there were contradictory feeling as though we were apprehensive at the thought of spotting ourselves, at the same time we wanted to almost as if that was ‘proof’ we were really there. It didn’t take blinking long as the huge promo shot plastered on the Lowry tower featured our naked backs before we’d even got into the building!
The place was packed full of excited contributors scanning all the finished photos for their naked little bodies, it was brilliant. Even though there were three or four shots taken at each location, only one made it through to the final exhibition, so it was hit and miss whether you’d be on a photo even if you were there. It was great watching people squeal with delight and sometimes horror when they found themselves right at the front! 🙂
Spencer Tunick was there and was just lovely to everyone, signing autographs, smiling for pictures and probably answering the same repeated question over and over – So, Spencer, do you recognise me with my clothes on?
We three scoured the images and found ourselves on the Concorde one with ease, on others with difficulty and on some not at all as we were just out of shot. All in all an experience well worth having – if you are considering it somewhere else in the world, please, please do it! It was exhilarating, different, surreal, fun, cold, I made two lovely new friends and there can be no better endorsement than that we would all do it again. But somewhere warmer than Salford on a May Bank Holiday weekend preferably.
We were allowed to take photos on the opening evening, can you spot yourself?!
Please see below links for more images and blogs posts from the day of the shoot:
https://moregeous.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/spencer-tunicks-salford-and-manchester-naked-shoot/
https://moregeous.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/excellent-sneaky-images-from-spencer-tunick-lowry-shoot/
Fabulous! And well done you for braving the elements that night – it was bitterly cold! Loved this blog – thanks for sharing.
On another note, I thought of you as I too stripped naked in public on the Pacific coast at the Esalen Institute during my recent US jaunt. Thing is, I didn’t know it was going to be an all naked affair until the Eleventh Hour. And by then, it was too late to turn and run. But funny (and strangely) enough, you were right – it is a marvellously liberating experience…
You did what?! Never mind Tesco’s, that’s the next dinner party conversation sorted then 😉 Hope to see you soon x
Crikey, I’m sure I gave you the eye; never realised you were famous! Bloody cold day though, but brilliant fun. I can make myself out in the bright green jacket as one of the ‘pervy men heading for the buses’! I couldn’t make myself out on any of the photos though, but I’m there briefly on the DVD!