Thousands to pose nude at Sydney Opera House

Spencer Tunick, the U.S. photographer known for his nude photo shoots, is seeking out Australians willing to pose in the buff on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Tunick wants at least 2,000 people to pose nude on the steps of the opera house, one of Sydney's most famous landmarks.

His shoot on March 1 will coincide with the city's annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras.

"In a way, I'm making a base for the structure, a base for the architecture and by combining straight and gay and lesbian people I'm weaving the different sexes and society together to form this wonderful fabric that holds up this gorgeous building," he said.

His Australian installation will be called The Base.

Tunick has created close to 100 installations around the world, with nude people standing on mountaintops, around buildings and in public squares in the name of art.

His rationale is that the naked human body is not sexual in this context, but reveals its vulnerability in the face of a rough landscape. Tunick did a nude shoot in Melbourne in 2001 and in locations such as Mexico City, a Swiss mountaintop, a French vineyardand an Austrian soccer stadium.

He said he considered shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach, but decided it was too big a setting.