Artist hopes to share his nude art, save Dead Sea in return to Israel

Spencer Tunick is well known for his 2011 mass art installation called "Naked Sea" featuring 1,200 naked Israelis at the Dead Sea.

By MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMAN
Updated: AUGUST 30, 2016 19:54
A woman practices yoga during a mass floating event in the Dead Sea (photo credit: REUTERS)
A woman practices yoga during a mass floating event in the Dead Sea
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Jewish-American artist Spencer Tunick, known for his mass nude art photography, is coming back t o the Holy Land. His visit will have a double purpose, however. In addition to inaugurating an exhibition of his work at the Reviat Florentin Gallery in Tel Aviv on September 12, the artist also hopes to raise awareness of the quickly-evaporating Dead Sea.
Tunick is well known for his 2011 mass art installation called “Naked Sea” featuring 1,200 naked Israelis standing and floating in the salty waters. In recent years, the sea’s water level has been dropping off by about 1.2 meters annually.
During the upcoming visit, he will again visit the Dead Sea’s Mineral Beach, site of the 2011 shoot, accompanied by Dr. Clive Lipchin, director of the Center for Transboundary Water Management at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
“Since 1991, I have traveled the world making immersive art with people of all races, religions, and nationalities,” Tunick said in a statement.
“But Israel is a unique place that I hold close to my heart and is the only country in the Middle East where I can be allowed to have proper freedom of expression.”
Lipchin expressed his hope as well that the visit will raise awareness and encourage decision-makers worldwide to take action to restore the Dead Sea to its glory.
“The Dead Sea we once knew doesn’t exist anymore,” Lipchin said. “The harm that has been done on all environmental levels has caused damages that are partly irreversible... the window of opportunity is narrow and will soon be closed.”