Spencer Tunick’s Latest Art Installation in Bogotá is a Show of Togetherness
22 July, 2016The work of US photographer Spencer Tunick is synonymous with redefining the human body and how we perceive it. Using mass groups of nude people, Tunick uses their bodies as canvas, creating new shapes from their unadorned forms. As well as challenging how people think about privacy and nudity, they allow us to see a new relationship between the bodies and the landscape in which they’re set.
In the early hours of 5th June 2016 over 6,000 people arrived at Bogotá’s Palacio de Justicia for a new installation by Tunick. All completely nude, the aim of the installation was to create the same kinds of discussions as Tunick’s previous works. However, the proposition of doing this in a Colombia which is very close to a long-awaited peace deal creating an extra layer of meaning. Ex-military, ex-FARC guerrillas, relatives of those lost or injured during the years of the war were all in attendance at this event. Both sides of the war were represented. In this installation, they wanted to come together to say that even though they lost something in the war, peace is the end goal, and everyone should be included in that despite what they’d done in the past.
A great example of this is Wilson Barreto, an ex Police Officer who was blinded by a FARC bomb attack in Bogotá at 19 years of age. In the video of the art installation below he talks about how he is willing to not only forgive, but become friends with Luis, a FARC commander who was in charge of the bomb attack that resulted in Barreto losing his eyesight.
Barreto is just one of the examples in this interesting video which pares Tunick’s art installation with a Colombian people anxious for peace and an inclusive society. Watch the video below:
Follow Sounds and Colours: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Mixcloud / Soundcloud / Bandcamp
Subscribe to the Sounds and Colours Newsletter for regular updates, news and competitions bringing the best of Latin American culture direct to your Inbox.