“GREEDY”, “incredibly disappointing” and “offensive”.
That’s the way world-renowned nude photographer Spencer Tunick and Melbourne locals have responded to Woolworths after the supermarket giant put a stop to his latest project.
Tunick had planned to photograph 10,000 nude Victorians on the rooftop of the Woolworths car park in Prahran at 9am on July 7.
The photographer visited the store just outside the Melbourne CBD in January and “loved” the location. He walked around it for half an hour and told the Chapel Street Precinct Association it would be his “hero shot” and “one that the world will remember”.
But Woolworths says customers need the car park at that time and that Tunick is not welcome.
“At Woolworths, we will always put the convenience of our local customers first,” a spokesman told news.com.au.
“We recently upgraded the rooftop car park at our Prahran store to make it more accessible and comfortable and its primary purpose is for customers to have convenient access to available car parking close to our store.
“The request for the photo was for the weekend, which is the busiest time of the week for shopping in our stores, and as such we must ensure customers have convenient access to our store when we are open.”
It’s a decision that hasn’t gone over well with locals who say a maximum of four cars use the car park at that time of the week.
Tunick was adamant the benefits of his installation would far outweigh the negatives, telling news.com.au: “The event we proposed for Saturday 7th July would bring between 500 - 1000 people into that Prahran location alone, which should be of great benefit to the surrounding businesses in the coldest month of the year. Not to mention the fact that given this is part of our ten day festival and has gained considerable media exposure, it should also boost visitor numbers into this area for a minimum of 10 days.
“We have promoted the Woolworths carpark extensively, through our social media, and the large billboards posted in multiple locations around Cato Square, so they have got more than their fair share of the CSPA destination marketing, given we have more than 1800 other businesses to consider.
“One of the main advantages of holding this photographic event on the Prahran rooftop carpark is to highlight (even to locals who are unaware of this parking facility) that there IS in fact a carpark there for all to use, and it is a convenient, central location to service surrounding businesses. Even though the coverage today was negative toward Woolworths, they gained huge exposure in educating the public about this carpark. They would NEVER have got that from any other organisation.”
John Lotton, Executive Chairman of the Chapel Street Precinct Association (CSPA), said he undertook reconnaissance at the location and quickly realised there were very few cars parking there on Saturday mornings.
“The most number of cars was four, always between two and four. At the very worst, we could offer two to four people a spot nearby so that the 10,000 people who have registered could be involved. We don’t think it’s a big ask.
He said that when he informed Tunick of the decision, the artist was “incredibly disappointed and quite offended given he’d shot in world heritage areas and at Grand Central Station in New York”.
“To be rejected on fairly poor grounds, he found it quite offensive,” Mr Lotton told news.com.au.
A petition asking Woolworths to reconsider its position has begun circulating. It calls Woolworths “greedy” despite the fact they regularly fundraise for the local community.
Mr Lotton says “greedy” is a fair description.
“They can throw a few dollars at the local gym or primary school, but that certainly doesn’t counteract the 10,000 people that have registered and are wanting to take part.
“We believe that the decision made by the particular department is shortsighted. This story has legs. It’s not a one-day story. We will continue this for quite some time.”
Tunick has photographed a number of iconic Australian locations including the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River and the Sydney Opera House.
Tunick was buoyed by the overwhelming support he’s received so far.
“We thank everyone for the huge overwhelming support - we have over 1000 signatures already. Thank you especially to the small businesses in the Prahran area for your support.
“You will not be surprised to hear that we will continue with our petition and apply considerable media pressure on Woolworths in order to persuade them the reconsider their current stance. We know this is more than about just one trader, it’s about the economic benefit to our whole diverse community,” Tunick said.
You can sign the petition at the Chapel Street Precinct Association’s Facebook page.