Poses past, part III – Spencer Tunick in Salford
My vague festering compulsion to participate in a Spencer Tunick installation saw its chance to be fulfilled when The Lowry commissioned him to photograph Everyday People.
The action was scheduled for the first weekend in May 2010. Places were strictly limited – applying on the first day of notice and following up with some robust begging was only sufficient to get me involved on the Saturday. But I was in, and in was good enough.
1 May 2010 was the Saturday in question. In the blackness of very early morning a select 500 queued up at The Lowry, waiting to be taken in bus convoy around various Salford locations.
The sense of anticipation and excitement among participants was palpable in the build up to the first shoot. Not even the harsh cold could diminish it. The absurdity of the situation, the liberation of joy, a licence to do the unthinkable, a resolute commitment to the greater whole… all these things brought strangers closer together. Friendships forged in that shared experience continue to this day.
It’s all about the mass, never about the individual.
But… here are some pictures of the mass with me, me, me highlighted:
…and here are The Lowry’s own video records of the shoot:
You’ll find me in the second one at the 1:00 mark, walking under a railway arch in deep conversation with Jenny Williams.
