Artist Spencer Tunick performs a cover up as he gives a sneak preview of his spectacular exhibition.
Six months after 1,700 people got naked on the banks of the Tyne on a cold Sunday morning in July, a series of photographic prints and a video by Tunick are going on show tomorrow at the Baltic
The 39-year-old New Yorker, used several locations for the shoot including Newcastle Quayside, the Millennium Bridge, the Sage Gateshead and the surrounding areas.
Volunteers came from all over for their chance to be part of the project and Tunick told how thrilled he is with the end results.
He said: "Seeing the pictures in the gallery and lit up, they have become like gems. The participants will get to see the work for the first time and I'm very excited about it. I did this for myself but also for the participants as a gift to them.
"The main piece is a mural and you can become part of it because it is so large. You can see people's different emotions - some are really very comfortable and are resting their heads against the naked bodies of strangers while others are a bit more nervous and reserved.
"That's going to be one of the great things to be discovered when people come and look at the installation. It's interesting to see how the participants reacted at the time.
"It's an incredible close-up and you can really feel the scale of what happened on that day if you weren't there. And for those who took part, it's a chance to see what was in my mind's eye when I was creating it, rather than the way they saw it from their own perspective or how it was reported in the media.
"The locations really lent themselves to the subject of the body and, in particular, the Sage was crying out for something like this to be set against it."
Although he's organised similar projects around the world since 1992, Tunick spent two years planning the Tyneside shoot.
He said: "A lot of my heart went into this. In New York, they're much more conservative and I get arrested for doing this kind of thing because they see anything to do with the body as a crime or equate it with being as bad as violence. Here people are more open to things and I really hope it helped everybody be more comfortable and at ease with their bodies.
"I made a number of trips to the area when I was putting this together but I was determined to get it right. I think I succeeded in what I was trying to do."
The exhibition was commissioned by the Baltic and BBC Three and was funded by the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative as part of its Culture 10 programme.
The Spencer Tunick installation is at the Baltic until March 26.
