Poses past, part I – Prested Hall, Essex

Everybody – and indeed, every ‘body’ – has to start somewhere. For me, before life modelling came a desire to join in one of the large-scale installations composed and photographed by Spencer Tunick. His works bring together hundreds, sometimes thousands, of ordinary people at locations around the world, united by a willingness to disrobe for art or curiosity or the hedonism of the moment.

The anonymity of the crowd is as good a place as any to lose oneself or find oneself but, as there’s no knowing when or where the next installation might occur, I signed up to the unofficial Spencer Tunick Experience forum and waited…

And while I waited, I saw notices posted for other projects requiring naked volunteers. One of these was in my own county of Essex, at Prested Hall near Kelvedon. So I signed up, and while I waited for Tunick’s next big event in the UK, the Marie Treck photo shoot at Prested Hall became my first participation project. Sunday 14 June 2009: about thirty of us arrived, stripped to nothing, covered ourselves in paint, and were photographed in various formations.

Here are a few of the results:

I believe that’s me bottom left, bottom left, and centre.

And so it began…