Stuart Ringholt: Power to the People

We’ve all heard of nudist beaches in the South of France, where it’s common practice to strip all conservatism (and clothing!) and just be. Substitute the beach for a gallery space in Sydney and you’ll find yourself in Stuart Ringholt’s latest exhibition.

Clothing is not optional for the Australian artist’s latest performance piece Power to the People where you can only participate in if you’re au naturel. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney will allow for current exhibitions to be viewed naked by the willing brave souls of the public while being escorted by Ringholt himself in all his glory. The aim of the piece is to observe if the audience reacts differently to the art when being in the nude. Fear, embarrassment and abnormality are recurring themes in Ringholt’s work and with this piece, the artist forces viewers to confront their undesirable traits and to choose to rather embrace and explore them.

Modernization has caused to us feel…well…naked. The sense of liberty and lack of self-consciousness is lost on our generation but by returning to simpler times, Ringholt proves that an intimate moment can be shared among strangers. His approach is avant-garde without being sensational, something very few artists manage to accomplish.

It’s doubtful that all galleries will become nudist spaces in the future but it is interesting how a public space can cultivate such a personal, intimate experience; a spiritual experience of the themes that the art addresses. This performance is obviously only available for adults (most children have no problem with being without clothes) and if walking around barefoot is the most problematic part of the whole scenario for you, shoes are the only clothing items permitted.