Nudity is the ultimate test of self-acceptance.

I was baffled when my friends called me ‘brave’ for going on a naked art gallery tour. To remove one’s clothing is a physical form of liberation.

‘Having walked through the halls of one of Australia’s most prestigious galleries, naked as the day I was born, surely I have now completed “expert level” nudism.’ The photo is on a tour of James Turrell’s Virtually squared 2014. The tour was conducted by artist Stuart Ringholt, who was naked. All those on the tour were naked. Adults only.

“Skyclad” is a term used by naturists to describe going nude. A wonderful word that conjures peeling back the blue heavens and wrapping it around one’s shoulders, as if it were a cloak.

Naturists are not the same as exhibitionists – the latter being motivated by titillation, a desire to be seen; whereas the former simply feel inhibited by clothing and in discarding it bring themselves closer to nature. With decades of exposure to sun, wind and rain, older naturists are sometimes identifiable by their leathery complexion and golden brown colour (sans tan line) – as I discovered when I took a tour of the National Gallery of Australia last week, completely nude, along with 49 other art lovers.struggling with body confidence issues for years, when Sienna Saint-Cyr became a life model, it changed her self-view. She gained body positivity, acceptance, and true love for herself. Read more