Spencer Tunick’s Return To Israel Highlights Dead Sea Plight

The artist photographer Spencer Tunick has returned to Israel for a new, installation, to highlight the Dead Sea’s decline. Last year Tunick was awarded a special prize by environmental organisations in the country for environmental sustainability. Over 1,000 nude models took part in his 2011 shoot at the Dead Sea, which was an international success. Spencer Tunick is known for his large scale nude installations. He has returned to the country to shoot a new clothed project, at a Dead Sea location. According to news site Bloomberg, Tunick joined Israeli-based organization Save Our Sea, which works toward the conservation of the Dead Sea, for the mass floating event to raise awareness of the sea’s shrinking shoreline.

Over the past decades the Dead Sea has seen a steady decline in water levels. Scientists fear for its ecological status, due to a decrease in the amount of water being brought in from the Jordan River in the north, and the pumping of the Dead Sea’s southern reservoir due to the extraction of its minerals by commercial industries. The founding members of ‘Save Our Sea’ are among the many visitors who come for the unique health benefits the Dead Sea has to offer, particularly for skin conditions such as psoriasis. Social activist Daphni Leef is also reportedly involved in bringing Tunick back to the Dead Sea, in an effort to fight the depletion of the Dead Sea’s natural resources by surrounding factories.

Tunick posted on his Facebook page that he was, “in Israel for the Dead Sea anniversar​y float and also to receive my first award ever.” He was referring to the Green Globe Award, given by Life and Environment, Israel’s umbrella organization for the country’s various environmental groups. The Green Globe is awarded to organizations and individuals for their work in environmental sustainability.

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