Neo Naturists at Tate Britain
The Neo Naturists' four-decade journey to paint themselves into Tate Britain
A few weeks ago, Tate Britain hosted a captivating intersection of art, history, and activism. The Neo Naturists, a trailblazing artist trio consisting of Jennifer Binnie, Christine Binnie, and Wilma Johnson, captivated visitors as they transformed their nude bodies into living representations of iconic nude artworks from the gallery’s collection, challenging the audience with a provocative question: “Do women have to be naked to gain entry into the Tate Gallery?” The lecture was part performance art, part art history, and part legitimate rebellion, cleverly criticizing the very establishment where they’d worked for over forty years to have the opportunity to exhibit.
This daring act, part of the Women in Revolt! exhibition, resonated with the art crowd that came to bear witness to the lecture, challenging long-standing norms and hypocrisies in the art world. “I think for all of us being in the Tate was a long-held ambition, but as the years passed we wondered whether it was ever going to happen,” Wilma Johnson told Planet Nude, reflecting on their journey from the fringes of the 1980s art scene to the venerable halls of Tate. “The fact that it was part of the recognition of women artists and feminist history made it particularly satisfying as it seemed for a long time that we were banging our heads against a brick wall.”
Christine Binnie wrote of the event on her Instagram:
“It felt utterly sureal for us 3 women in our 60s, to stand in the nude in the same gallery as the bust of Sir Henry Tate himself and deliver this lecture critiquing this hallowed institution. This lecture was our idea, which we offered to the Tate when we were asked to contribute work to ‘Women in Revolt’ Its great that they rose to the challenge and its come to pass! […] I hope its the catalyst for a change of the approach to nudity on display on the Tate walls and in real life in the building!”
The revolutionary rise of the Neo Naturists
The early ‘80s in London was the genesis of the Neo Naturists, a response to the conservative and restrained cultural landscape of the time. Founders Jennifer and Christine Binnie and Wilma Johnson sought to liberate the female form from societal constraints, using their bodies as canvases in bold, unscripted performances, photographs, videos, paintings, and other art. Their work, entwined with the feminist movement and inspired by punk naturists in Berlin, pushed against the commodification of women’s bodies, advocating for freedom and body positivity.
The Neo Naturists’ events were spontaneous, happening in galleries, nightclubs, and public places, mixing art with everyday life. They did more than perform; they lived their art, creating events where everyone could rethink how they see their bodies and their environment.
They did not identify with traditional naturists, who tended to project a rather staid and conservative image of naturism, but their artistic statements aligned with many of the naturists’ values.
Dr. Annebella Pollen, Professor of Visual and Material Culture at the University of Brighton, told Planet Nude, “The public face of British naturism in the 1980s, as seen from the historic pages of magazines like Health and Efficiency, was a very different affair from what Neo-Naturists were doing; it looked simultaneously stuffy and seedy in comparison, closer to the conservative culture of topless models shown on Page 3 of The Sun newspaper. The ‘neo’ of Neo-Naturists mattered; they were a new generation informed by the irreverent DIY practices of punk; their body paint drew from hippy styles and their politics came from second-wave feminism.”
Art and influence
The Neo Naturists’ influence extended beyond performances, touching the lives of many in the underground scene, including notable figures like Boy George and Grayson Perry. Their method was remarkable in a world where men dominated art and the feminist movement was just building up. “When we started out in the 80s, the art world was extremely male-dominated, with only 12% of the artists in major galleries being women,” Wilma Johnson says. The Neo Naturists took back control of the female body from society’s usual way of seeing it, showing it as a source of power, creativity, and freedom, not just something to look at.
Their shows were known for being full of surprises, from playful to serious, making people think and sometimes leaving them puzzled.
The Neo Naturists have continued over the years, and though Wilma left the group for a period to return in 2016 for a retrospective exhibit with Studio Voltaire, she never stopped making art exploring these themes of body positivity and femininity and identity.
The Neo Naturists today
Fast forward to today, and the message of the Neo Naturists feels more relevant than ever. In an era where body shaming and digital perfectionism are rampant, their call for authenticity, self-acceptance, and freedom rings loud and clear.
“The question the Neo-Naturists ask in 2024, ‘Do women have to be naked to get into the Tate?’ deliberately echoes that asked by the masked feminist activists, the Guerilla Girls, about the disparity between women as exhibiting artists and women as nude subject matter in the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1989,” Dr. Pollen tells Planet Nude. “Tate is very late to mount a dedicated exhibition of feminist art in Britain. Nonetheless, Women in Revolt: Art and Activism in the UK, 1970-1990 is both a celebration of a past period of furious activity—in both senses of the word “furious”—and a reflection on its present-day pertinences. Art made on, with and about women’s bodies is a central feature of the show. The Neo-Naturists’ naked protest shows the continuing power of women’s bodies to disrupt institutional decorum in the museum and to operate as political and artistic campaign tools.”
“I think the Women in Revolt! show is a historic moment for a lot of people and it’s amazing how popular it’s been—hopefully this is a sign that the tide has turned,” Wilma Johnson says. “Although we’ve always been anti-establishment it’s great to be recognised by the establishment.” This newfound respect, as Wilma notes, signifies a cultural shift towards the appreciation of diverse expressions of art and the body.
“We seem to get a lot more respect and less heckling now,” she says. “I’m not sure whether it’s because we’re older women now or the fact that we’re performing in places like the Tate.” Despite missing “the crazy spontaneous vibe of the 1980s,” the Neo Naturists acknowledge the evolution of their reception in the public eye and within prestigious institutions.
Visit before it’s gone
Women in Revolt! showcases feminist art from the 1970s to the 1990s and features a Neo Naturists section that includes original paintings and photographs. The exhibition is at Tate Britain until April 7, 2024.
If you can’t catch the showcase in London, you’ll have another chance. The show reopens at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh starting May 25th. 🪐