The famous American photographer of nude multitudes has said that he hopes to do further artistic installations in both Mexico and Venezuela, two Latin-American countries that were particularly receptive to his ongoing project. Mexico City was the scene of his record photo shoot, involving 18,000 naked volunteers, a number which he doubts he can surpass in the future. On another note, according to statistics compiled after the Mexico event, 65 percent of participants were male, 40 percent were between the ages of 26 and 36, and the vast majority were from the capital region itself.
Tunick has long wanted to do an installation on the massive pyramids of the Teotihuacán ruins near Mexico City, something local authorities have so far resisted. Tunick is still trying hard to convince the country’s National Institute of History and Archeology (INAH) to grant him permission. He believes this could become a reality within three years. A retrospective of Tunick’s body of work, in both photos and short films is currently exhibited in Mexico City’s “Museo de Ciudad” (City Museum), where it will remain until February 28, 2008. Murals of photos as well as videos from his Mexico City photo shoot can also be seen in a gallery of a city university.
Recently, Tunick was also in Caracas for the inauguration of another exhibit of his work in the Museum of Contemporary Art in that city. He told local reporters that he intended to return to Venezuela in the first three months of 2008 for another shoot, this time using the 5 mile (8.6 km) long suspension bridge that spans Lake Maracaibo in the northeast of the country as the backdrop.
