© Spencer Tunick, Stay Apart Together — © Spencer Tunick, *Stay Apart Together*

Leaning on the power of art in bringing people together, Spencer Tunick is renowned for his live installations in outdoor spaces all over the world, where nude human bodies morph together to create new shapes and eradicate the boundaries between nature and culture in order to return to a ‘pre-industrial’ state of existence. In a way, human connection is the backbone of his art. But, as ‘self-isolation’, ‘quarantine’ and ‘lockdown’ are now part of our daily glossary, the warmth, pulse and pressure of human contact is much longed for. Scientists have coined this feeling ‘Skin Hunger’ or ‘Touch Starvation’; an aching desire for physical contact with another person. Because of the Covid-19 potential threat to human survival, we have to keep our distances from one another to ensure our safety. Yet, this unusual new way of life did not prevent Tunick from wielding the therapeutic power of art to, once again, connect people in his new online series entitled ‘Stay Apart Together’.

Through video chat platforms, the visual artist gathered up to twenty-five participants from different parts of the world, and is looking to increase the number to a hundred. Tunick guides and directs the participants to pose and stand united, and by doing so, he manages to celebrate togetherness in times of isolation and to provide a sense of unison, strength and safety, at a time where it is much yearned for. Tunick delves into the meaning of connectedness while being apart and the role art and technology hold in it. ‘Stay Apart Together is a first step into the exploration into this new normal way of co-existing.’ observes Alonso Gorozpe, curator of the series and founder of Studio 333.

In the absence of touching, while our respective bodies collectively ache for the warm feeling of physical contact, a pleasant sense of hope in humanity emanates when looking at these photographs. As a participant, Sara Gonzales, beautifully expresses ‘this project is a visual reminder that even isolation can be an act of love.’ Amidst all this chaos, Tunick reminds us that human strength lies in human connections, and by standing together and united, whatever that might entail today, we can surmount any obstacle. For now, let’s hold on to the easiness and hope that this project vicariously evokes while patiently waiting for the next time we will stand closer to one another than six feet away.

Check out his work on his instagram (@SpencerTunick)