Im a nude dancer in art exhibit – prudish Brits apologise when squeezing past

A group of people are taking their kit off in the name of art – but it seems to have left people a little confused.

Nudity has never been off the cards when it comes to artistic expression, but it seems audience members don't quite know what to say.

Rowena Gander forms part of a group of 40 performers made up of dancers, artists and actors who will be baring all for Marina Abramovic's exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. As part of the performance, there's a scene were a naked man and woman stand opposite each other and block visitors from going past.

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It forces the audience to have to find a way around them, but it appears to have stopped a few people in their tracks. Audience members just don't know what to do when they're surrounded by naked bodies.

The artist, who is based in Liverpool, said her job involves a "one hour performance of mutual gazing with a partner as people pass through our naked bodies, as though it were a doorway to the art". Writing on Instagram, she said: "Already, I have lots of interesting observations of audience interaction with the work. The main one last night, at the launch, was people apologising."

One of her followers said the reaction was "so British", and others laughed at the slight drama of it all too.

Rowena performs alongside dancer Kieram Corrin Mitchell as part of the exhibition, and she describes herself as a performer, choreographer and instructor who focuses on making "experimental, thought provoking work through contemporary pole dance fusion."

In the past she has performed at Secret Circus, Miss Pole Dance UK 2017, the Las Vegas Pole Expo and the Blackpool Pole Dance Championships. She's now taking part in the hour-long performance called Imponderabilia, which will run at least six times a day as part of the exhibition.

Speaking about taking part in the show, Rowena said: "I learn so much about myself and the other person when I perform this work. After about 30 minutes I feel like I can see their soul."

She will also star in two other performances at the exhibition. One sees a naked woman posing in the shape of a crucifix while suspended on a wall-mounted bicycle saddle.

Meanwhile, another scene sees an artist lie naked for around two hours while positioned underneath a skeleton. Rowena admitted she'd "undergone some intense endurance and durational performance training" to get ready for the "challenging and powerful" performances.

Another artist set to take their clothes off for the same three works is Agata Flaminika, who dubs herself as "a multidisciplinary artist based in Cornwall". Previously she shared some snaps of herself with paint all over her while performing naked outdoors.

One post even saw her complain about how images of artistic expression centring on the female body can come under fire on social media. It came after one of her images about womanhood and nature was claimed to have gone against Instagram's guidelines on nudity.

Writing on social media, she said: "It's really sad and frustrating how social media censor female bodies, especially in relation to vulgar, over-sexualised portrayal present in mass media. There should be no shame in looking at the naked body."

Even so, she told people she was "absolutely honoured and excited" about performing at the exhibition. During her time at the show, she will perform alongside the likes of Kam Wan – a US based artist, model and actor.

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