The nude gathering outside the Sydney Opera House.
Sydney’s gay Mardi Gras may have just begun as people swap business suits for sparkly lycra costumes, but the underlying message of the Mardi Gras was shouted out loud and proud to the world in a powerful and rather bizarre way yesterday.
In an event that had the global media buzzing was the organisation of 5,200 naked people lying side by side on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
It was a project commissioned by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and carried out by world famous US photographer Spencer Tunick. Tunick has been organising mass nude installations since 1994, such as the record-breaking attempt in Mexico’s Zocalo Square where over 18,000 people posed nude. He’s also photographed subjects in Newcastle upon Tyne, Lyon, Amsterdam, Switzerland and Ireland.
Turick’s art sends out a bold message of equality and solidarity, as he sums up his latest work in his own words: “Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbours, and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society.”
The Mardi Gras began at the weekend with the annual parade of floats through the streets of Sydney which were packed with crowds. The theme of the parade was ‘History of the World’ and it was one of the largest parades seen in the Mardi Gras’ history, with 135 floats and 9,400 participants.
The parade began as a protest march back in 1978 when thousands of homosexual men and women took to the streets to demand equal rights and an end to discrimination. The parade may now be about lavish costumes and parties, but underneath it all it is still a political event reminded Katrina Marton, head of events at the Mardi Gras, especially as the same-sex marriage bill was turned down by Senate earlier this week.
The party continues all this week with theatre acts, dance parties, seminars, literature, film festivals, beach activities and cabaret. Find out more by visiting the Mardi Gras website.
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