Volunteers posed for Spencer Tunick, the American artist, in a park in Salford as he aimed to reflect the work of LS Lowry in a large-scale installation.
Naked figures, male and female, young and old, spread out across Peel Park as Tunick gave them instructions through a loudspeaker.
The installation, Everyday People, featuring a mixture of photography and film, focuses on ordinary men and women, referencing the style of Lowry who is best-known for his “matchstick men” - figurative works depicting a mass of bodies going about their everyday lives.
The work was commissioned by The Lowry gallery in Salford to celebrate its tenth birthday and will be shown there from June 12.
Tunick, who is famous for his art works featuring naked bodies, has photographed similar pieces at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Institut Cultura in Barcelona, Spain and the Baltic Centre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
Over 4,000 people applied for 1,000 places for Everyday People, which is being staged in eight secret locations around Salford and Manchester, with volunteers ferried between each location in heated buses.
Speaking after the event, Tunick said: “I think being naked creates a new meaning for the background. It creates a relationship between the concrete world and the real world.”
Joyce Stevens, 56, a secretary from Liverpool, was among the naked volunteers.
She said: “I wanted to push my boundaries and see how far I could go.
“When I was registering initially I didn’t know what it was letting myself in for. Towards the end it was a bit chilly but I feel like I’ve accomplished something.
“Liberated is probably not the word but maybe that will kick-in when I’m back sitting on the bus and a bit warmer.”
Stephen Parkinson, 42 a shop assistant, from Wrexham, North Wales said: “It’s been a good day and everybody has been buzzing about the event. I’m little bit cold but it is worth it.
“People say that it’s a sexual experience but it’s actually more tribal. We are bonding with a good group of people. We were all waiting outside the Lowry at 10.30 last night to make a piece of history.
"Spencer’s done some good work and I hope that one day it will be there as a piece of art for everyone to enjoy.
“I didn’t really know much about him apart from a few pictures I’d seen on the internet but after doing a bit of research I decided I wanted to have a go at it when the opportunity came along.
"It was more out of intrigue than passion but everybody’s got into the spirit of things and it’s just been truly great.
“Some people view naturism a bit like a scene from Carry on Camping but they need to understand that it’s not like that any more. It’s about celebrating the body and being with like-minded people of all shapes and sizes.
"It’s not to everybody’s tastes but it shouldn’t be frowned upon.”
Joyce Stevens, 56, a secretary from Liverpool, said: “I wanted to push my boundaries and see how far I could go.
“When I was registering initially I didn’t know what it was letting myself in for. Towards the end it was a bit chilly but I feel like I’ve accomplished something.
"Liberated is probably not the word but maybe that will kick-in when I’m back sitting on the bus and a bit warmer.”
Victoria Denning, 56, a humanist from Birmingham: “I’d heard about Spencer before and had seen a lot of his other work in the likes of Sydney, Barcelona and Mexico.
"When you look at it to start off with, quite often don’t realise that it’s naked bodies being photographed. It becomes a single entity.
“Immediately you feel that it’s a piece of artwork. As soon as we stripped-off and walked down the first hill it didn’t look like naked bodies, it looked like art straight away.
“As Spencer puts you all into position and tells you what to do, you begin to see what it’s going to look like. I’m really looking forward to seeing it when it’s finished so I’ll be coming back up to Salford for that.
“There was one very drunken man, who we came across on the street, for a look who will have wondered what was in his cider last night.
"But there was nothing sexual at all and it wasn’t like exposing yourself because everybody else was in the same position.”
Chris Walton, 18, nightclub promoter from Altrincham, Cheshire said: “I’m always looking for new experiences and fancied doing something a bit crazy, so when I heard this on the news I thought it was right up my street!
“When you’re getting your kit off in a situation like this you have a laugh about it with your mates, because there’s a safety in numbers thing.
“At times we all had to move in one direction. Whether getting naked in a park is the right direction to be moving-in is a different question, but maybe something will come from it.”
Bob McDevitt, 42, a publisher from Glasgow, also took part. He said: “I took part in the Newcastle one a couple of years ago and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to have a go again because it’s such a unique experience.
“There’s something about people taking their clothes off that is a real leveller. Prejudices and concerns go out the window. It was about learning and expressing what it is to be human."
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