Some 5,200 Australians posed naked in front of the Sydney Opera House yesterday for a photo shoot by New York-based artist Spencer Tunick for another signature installation of nudes against urban backdrops.

On a chilly, overcast, first day of autumn, the mass nude photo shoot was titled Mardi Gras: The Base and meant to celebrate Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras last weekend.

As the sun rose, Mr Tunick instructed participants to do a number of poses, from standing up, lying down, and even embracing cheek to cheek, for over an hour.

"I want all couples to embrace and kiss, all friends to kiss and all strangers to do whatever they want," Mr Tunick said as he directed the crowd. Some participants were surprised at how asexual, and levelling, the event was.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.